Background: The anxiety and stress level of both parent and child seeking treatment at the emergency department is assumed to be high. However, it is rarely quantified as to ascertain any need for intervention. Objective: The study seeks to quantify anxiety of parents accompanying sick children presenting acutely to the emergency department and to explore possible pre-visit factors that may contribute to anxiety. Methods: A 12-month cross-sectional study was conducted at the Emergency Department, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre. All parents accompanying a child presenting to the study location, fitting the inclusion and exclusion criteria, were invited to participate. Parents required to fill a self-administered questionnaire on anxiety, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and any related factors that can influence anxiety. Results: A total of 233 subjects were recruited. The mean state anxiety score was 53.48 ± 11.36, compared to the mean score for trait anxiety of 39.85 ± 7.66, suggesting a heightened state of anxiety. Majority of subjects (65.7%) had reported clinically detected anxiety as defined by state anxiety score above 49. There was no significant association between parental anxiety level with pre-visit factors: children’s age, duration of illness, the presence of co-morbidities, time of presentation, prior medical contact and primary care referral. The child’s state of illness was the dominant psychosocial factor associated with parental anxiety reported by the subjects. Conclusion: Parental anxiety upon arrival appeared to be significantly higher than expected, suggesting intervention may be needed.

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Background: Syphilis is common and resurgences predominantly occurs among men who have sex with men (MSM). Objective: The aim of the study was to describe the epidemiology, clinical and serological aspects of patients with syphilis diagnosed at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). Methods: A retrospective study was conducted whereby patients with serologically confirmed syphilis cases between January 2010 and December 2012 were included. The epidemiological and clinical data were gathered from the patient's progress note. Results: A total of 67 patients were selected in this research (41 males, 26 females). The mean age was 48.97 ± 17.45, where majority were from 20 to 39 years old (37.3%). Most patients were diagnosed at latent stage (65.7%). Identified risk factors for syphilis infection included sexual promiscuity either homosexual or heterosexual, intravenous drug user and partner diagnosed as syphilis. Penicillin is the antibiotic of choice for the treated cases. Conclusions: This study managed to provide an epidemiological and serological data of syphilis infection in our medical center where syphilis was diagnosed predominantly in male especially in young adults.

An emergency department (ED) is a front door for a hospital where a huge number of patients visit the department to seek immediate treatment. This has led to ED overcrowding. A cross sectional study was conducted to determine the pattern of patients attending the ED in a public teaching hospital in Malaysia. 2013 daily census data contained 66,603 patients were used. In this study, 62.1% of ED attendances are non-critical case. They commonly utilized the ED in the early morning, during weekends, and early part of the week. In conclusion, non-critical patients are seen to be the most frequent ED users. They are commonly present at the ED with minor problems. Hence, ED management should implement various solving methods in order to educate such people regarding the real functions of an ED.