POTENTIAL OF URAI MATHIRAI (PEDIATRIC SIDDHA FORMULATION) FOR THE PROPHYLAXIS AND MANAGEMENT OF COVID-19 IN CHILDREN

The World Health Organization (WHO) data proposes that 8.5% of reported COVID-19 cases belong to pediatric population who are aged less than 18 years. Supportive care alone is recommended in asymptomatic, mild, or moderate pediatric COVID-19 patients by the panel of pediatric infectious diseases physicians and pharmacists from 20 geographically diverse North American institutions. This review article focuses on the prophylactic and therapeutic potential of Urai mathirai in the management of pediatric COVID-19 patients. The literature was looked, in databases such as Medline/PubMed Central/PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Web of science, Directory of open access journals (DOAJ), and reference lists to distinguish published manuscripts relevant to the use of Urai mathirai to prevent or treat COVID-19 in children. The herbs found in Urai Mathirai and their bioactive phytoconstituents possess antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, bronchodilatory and other pharmacological effects relevant to the management of signs and manifestations of COVID-19. The viability of Urai Mathirai in the prophylaxis and management of pediatric COVID-19 patients could further be established by future clinical studies

Coconut oil and cholesterol as challenge agents to induce hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis in hamster animal model

Hyperlipidemia is a condition of high lipid levels in the plasma and often linked with the deposition of lipid droplets in the aorta which initiate the progression of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a common cardiovascular disorder initiated by the formation of foams cells in the vascular wall which leads to turbulent blood flow, injury to the endothelial layer and subsequent vascular thrombosis. Since the early 1980’s, Golden-Syrian hamsters have been widely used as an animal model in the research of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis. The use of hamsters in the hyperlipidemic and atherosclerotic model is due to their lipoprotein profile that is closer to human setting, sensitive to high-fat high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet and a suitable rodent model. Atherosclerosis can be induced in hamsters through dietary challenge with HFHC diet. Over the decades, coconut oil (CNO) was commonly used as the source of fat in the diet design of high saturated fatty acids (SFA) composition. In this review, we summarized published literature with designs involving CNO plus cholesterol-induced hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis or both. The factors that may influence the ability of CNO and cholesterol combination to induce hyperlipidemia such as the period of dietary intervention, hamster strains and the dietary amount were evaluated and summarized

The value of c-reactive protein/albumin ratio in the severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients

The continuing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic provides several concerns for physicians. Thus, saving maximum lives as possible and finding people at risk of serious problems is essential. This study aimed to determine the association of CRP/albumin ratio with severity, duration of hospital stay and mortality in COVID-19 patients. The patient aged 18 to 80 with positive COVID-19 at Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II (HRPZ II), Kota Bharu, Kelantan, with available CRP/albumin ratio data on admission, were retrospectively evaluated from March 2021 to March 2022. Disease severity was categorized based on Annex 2e guidelines by Malaysia's Ministry of Health, which further classified them into mild to moderate disease (Stage 1-3) and severe to critical illness (Stage 4- 5). The CRP/albumin ratio levels on Day 1 admission were archived from the electronic medical record system and compared between the two groups. The study included 141 COVID-19 patients with a mean age of 51.11(SD± 16.66) for mild to moderate and 58.06 (SD± 13.87) for severe to critical. The severe to critical group had significantly higher values of patients’ age (p=0.015). The frequency of patients according to severity, 36(26%) were mild to moderate, and 105(74%) were severe to critical. CRP/Alb ratio was significantly elevated in the severe to critical illness group (p<0.001). 28 (20%) patients died, 113 (80%) survived, and median CRP/albumin ratio values were higher in non-survivors compared to survivors (p<0.001). High CRP/albumin ratio levels were associated with longer hospital stay (correlation coefficients 0.295, p<0.001). Receiver operator characteristic analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for CRP/albumin ratio was 0.755 (95% CI: 0.670- 0.840). The optimal cut-off point of CRP/albumin ratio was 1.494 (sensitivity 60%, specificity 89%, PPV 0.94, NPV 0.43, LR+ 5.41, LR- 0.45, DOR 12). CRP/Alb ratio on Day 1 admission is associated with COVID-19 severity and mortality

Reliability of Self-Administered Questionnaire on Dietary Supplement Consumption in Malaysian Adolescents

The repeatability of most questionnaires utilized in previous studies related to the consumption of dietary supplements (DS) among youth has not been well documented. Thus, a simple and easy-to-administer questionnaire to capture the habitual use of DS in the past one year known as the dietary supplement questionnaire (DiSQ) was developed and supported with external reliability evaluation. Analyses were done based on a convenience sample of 46 secondary school students. To elicit information regarding the intake of DS, the questionnaire was partitioned into two domains. The first domain was used to identify vitamin/mineral (VM) supplements, while the second domain was utilized to identify non-vitamin/non-mineral (NVNM) supplements. Cohen&rsquo;s kappa coefficient (k) was used to evaluate the test&ndash;retest reliability of the questionnaire. Questionnaire administration to the respondents was done twice whereby a retest was given two weeks after the first test. Between test and retest, the reliability of individual items ranged from moderate to almost perfect for the VM (k = 0.53&ndash;1.00) and NVNM (k = 0.63&ndash;1.00) domains. None of the items had &ldquo;fair&rdquo; or &rdquo;poor&rdquo; agreement. Various correlation coefficients can be obtained for the DiSQ but are generally reliable over time for assessing information on the consumption of supplements among the adolescent population

Risk Factors of Osteoporosis and Post-Discharged Supplements and Drugs Intake in Patients with Lower Body Fractures

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