ASSESSING THE PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE MALAYSIAN VERSION OF PERCEIVED DIABETES SELF-MANAGEMENT SCALE FOR DIABETES MELLITUS

ABSTRACTObjective: The self-management of the chronic illnesses including diabetes mellitus (DM) contributes directly to the optimum outcomes. The selfmanagementofpatients livingwith DMis essential toachieveoptimal glycemiccontrolandtoavoidor forestallthemyriadtomanage thelong-termnegativeconsequences.This studyaimed toassess psychometricpropertiesoftheMalaysianversionofperceiveddiabetesself-management scale(PDSMS).Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 314 adult diabetes patients (≥18-years-old; DM Type 1 or 2) attending Endocrine Clinic at KualaLumpur Hospital, Malaysia from July 2014 to January 2015, for the period of 6-month. Permission was obtained from the corresponding authorto translate the English version of PDSMS to Malay language (M-PDSMS). The final version of the questionnaire was self-administered among thepatients living with DM after taking their consent before their participation in this study. Psychometric properties were evaluated using the classicaltest theory: Cronbach's alpha (α), intraclass correlation (ICC), and construct validity by principle component analysis and the modern test theory(MTT): Realtime item reliability, person reliability, and item construct validity.Results: M-PDSMS proved to be internally consistent with good Cronbach α values for both pilot and real study (α=0.69, 0.77), respectively. ICC (0.75)for 1-month test-retest reliability proved the stability of the items. While in MTT, the realtime item reliability values also surpassed the good reliabilityindex of 0.70 for both pilot (α=0.93) and real study (α=0.97).Conclusion: M-PDSMS proved to be a valid and reliable questionnaire to assess the perceived diabetes self-management among the Malaysian DMpatients. The findings of the study should be replicated in other states of Malaysia to ensure the retention of good reliability and validity profile.Keywords: Self-management, Diabetes, Perceived diabetes self-management scale, Reliability, Validity, Modern test theory, Classical test theory, Rasch

A report of three cases of untreated Graves’ disease associated with pancytopenia in Malaysia

Generally, clinical presentations of Graves’ disease range from asymptomatic disease to overt symptomatic hyperthyroidism with heat intolerance, tremor, palpitation, weight loss, and increased appetite. However, atypical presentation of Graves’ disease with hematological system involvement, notably pancytopenia, is distinctly uncommon. Hereby, we present and discuss a series of three untreated cases of Graves’ disease clinically presented with pancytopenia and the hematological abnormalities that responded well to anti-thyroid treatment. With resolution of the thyrotoxic state, the hematological parameters improved simultaneously. Thus, it is crucial that anti-thyroid treatment be considered in patients with Graves’ disease and pancytopenia after a thorough hematological evaluation

A report of three cases of untreated Graves’ disease associated with pancytopenia in Malaysia

Generally, clinical presentations of Graves’ disease range from asymptomatic disease to overt symptomatic hyperthyroidism with heat intolerance, tremor, palpitation, weight loss, and increased appetite. However, atypical presentation of Graves’ disease with hematological system involvement, notably pancytopenia, is distinctly uncommon. Hereby, we present and discuss a series of three untreated cases of Graves’ disease clinically presented with pancytopenia and the hematological abnormalities that responded well to anti-thyroid treatment. With resolution of the thyrotoxic state, the hematological parameters improved simultaneously. Thus, it is crucial that anti-thyroid treatment be considered in patients with Graves’ disease and pancytopenia after a thorough hematological evaluation