Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) to treat uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria has been applied in Purworejo District, Central Java, Indonesia, since 2004. However evaluation of the two ACT regimens used ie: Artesunate Amodiaquine (AAQ) and Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine (DHP) co-administered with Primaquine (PQ) has not been performed. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and adverse events of AAQ+PQ and DHP+PQ treatment in uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Purworejo. In this descriptive and observational study, 46 Pf infected patients who fullfill the inclusion and exclusion criterias were recruited from December 2010 to August 2011. Standard ACT treatment were given to the patients followed by WHO drug efficacy evaluation for 28 days. The clinical symptoms and adverse events was also evaluated over the course of the treatment. From all recruited subjects, 37 patients received DHP+PQ and 9 patients received AAQ+PQ. On the DHP+PQ treated patient, all subjects were free of asexual and sexual parasites by Day-3 while on AAQ+PQ treated patient, this parasite clearance was achieved faster as early as on D-2 at the latest. On the otherhand, the disappearance of fever was also last longer in DHP+PQ treated patient which in one patient last on D-14, while in AAQ+PQ treated patient, the symptom of fever dissappeared by D-2 at the latest. No Early or Late Treatment Failures were found on either DHP+PQ or AAQ+PQ treatment as well as clinical and parasitological failures. However, the presence of adverse events cause by both drugs should not be ignored to ensure drug compliance. J Med Sci, Volume 48,No. 1, 46 ABSTRAKTerapi malaria dengan Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) untuk malaria tanpa komplikasi diterapkan di Kabupaten Purworejo, Jawa, Indonesia, sejak tahun 2004. Namun demikian evaluasi terhadap efektivitas dua regimen ACT yang digunakan yaitu Artesunate Amodiakuin (AAQ) dan Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine (DHP) disertai Primakuin (PQ) belum pernah dilakukan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengevaluasi efikasi dan adverse events AAQ + PQ dan DHP + PQ pada penderita malaria tanpa komplikasi di Purworejo. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian deskriptif dan observasional. Subjek penelitian adalah pasien yang terinfeksi P. falciparum yang memenuhi kriteria inklusi dan eksklusi, direkrut dari Desember 2010 hingga Agustus 2011. Status resistensi obat, dan adverse events dievaluasi menggunakan cara evaluasi baku WHO selama 28 hari. Dari semua subjek yang direkrut (46), 37 penderita diobati dengan DHP + PQ dan 9 penderita dengan AAQ + PQ. Pada kelompok yang mendapat pengobatan DHP + PQ, semua subyek bebas dari parasit stadium aseksual dan seksual pada hari ke 3, sedangkan kelompok yang mendapatkan pengobatan AAQ + PQ, parasit sudah menghilang dari sirkulasi darah pada hari-2. Semua penderita yang diobati DHP+PQ gejala demam menghilang lebih lama yaitu sampai hari ke 14, sedangkan pada penderita yang diobati dengan AAQ + PQ gejala demam sudah menghilang sejak hari ke 2. Tidak ada keg...

Soil-transmitted helminth infection remained a significant public health problem in many developing countries. Elementary school-age children dominated the cases in Indonesia due to poor personal hygiene. South Central Timor had the top three poverty and the highest stunting rates in East Nusa Tenggara. Research to examine the relationship between personal hygiene and the incidence of Soil-Transmitted Helminth infection had never been conducted in South Central Timor. The study population consisted of 279 elementary school students selected from Inpres Nulle Elementary School, Inpres Neonmat Elementary School, and GMIT Nulle Elementary School through the Multistage Random Sampling technique. It was obtained 160 children as the study samples. The study found that 46 children (29.0%) were positive for STH, and 114 (71.0%) were negative for STH. Furthermore, 30 (65.2%) were positive for hookworm, 14 (30.4%) were positive for Ascaris lumbricoides, and 2 (4.4%) children had mixed infections. Multiple Logistic Regression Tests showed a significant effect of washing hands with soap after defecating with p = 0.031 and OR = 7.158. Thus, if a child did not wash his hands with soap after defecating, he had a risk of STH infection by 7.158 times. Furthermore, the effect of eating habits obtained a p = 0.038 and an OR value = 0.133 with the possibility of eating habits that did not protect against STH infection. In addition, the effect of dirty nails obtained a p=0.064 and an OR=5.264, which indicated the risk of contracting STH by 5.264 times. The effect of snacking habit obtained a p = 0.005 and an OR=0.121. It can be concluded that the incidence of STH was simultaneously influenced by the habit of defecating on the ground, washing hands without soap after defecation, eating raw food, having dirty nails, and having poor snacking habits.

Background: School-aged children between 6-12 years are a vulnerable group that could be affected by malnutrition, which may cause growth failure and affect their school achievement. East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, is known as the province with the highest cases of malnutrition. Objective: This study aimed to determine serum total protein and albumin levels among malnourished elementary-aged children. Serum total protein and albumin are biochemical parameters that give valuable data due to malnutrition. Methods: This study employed a case-control design. Purposive sampling was used to select the samples with a total of 90 children aged 6 – 12 years, of which 45 were assigned to a case group and a control group. The children’s blood was collected and analyzed using Riele Photometer 5010. The Biuret method was applied for total protein and bromocresol green for albumin serum. Independent sample t-test with a significant value <0.05 was used to determine the difference between mean total protein and albumin levels. Results: The percentage of low total protein levels in malnourished children was 36%, and the percentage of low albumin levels was 27%. The mean level of total protein and albumin was found to be lower in malnourished than in well-nourished children, 6.324±1.1748 g/dL vs. 7.047±0.6330 g/dL (p = <0.001), and 3.927 g/dL±0.7779 g/dL vs. 4.242 g/dL±0.5272 (p = 0.016), respectively. Conclusion: There were significant differences in total protein and albumin serum among malnourished and well-nourished children. The results may serve as basic information for further studies or to create an intervention to reduce malnutrition.

COVID-19 merupakan penyakit infeksius menular yang di sebabkan oleh SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus yang dapat menyebabkan kematian. Pemeriksaan laboratorium yang dilakukan pada covid-19 adalah Real Time Reverse Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) dan sebagai data pendukung dapat juga dilakukan pemeriksaan hematologi rutin serta mengukur tingkat D-Dimer. Mengukur tingkat D-dimer pada awal terjadinya penyakit dapat berguna dalam mengendalikan dan mengelola panyakit COVID-19. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui gambaran hematologi rutin dan D-dimer pasien COVID-19 Kota Kupang. Jenis penelitian yang di gunakan yaitu deskriptif dengan pendekatan secara cross sectional menggunakan data sekunder, jumlah sampel yang memenuhi kriteria inklusi dan eksklusi sebanyak 292 orang. Hasil penelitian menujukkan pasien terkonfirmasi COVID-19 paling tinggi pada usia 31-35 tahun 91 (31%) dan paling rendah pada usia 0-5 tahun 12 (14%), lebih tinggi pada laki-laki 151 (52%). Gambaran hasil hematologi rutin dari 292 pasien didominasi normal dan pada beberapa kasus mengalami sedikit penigkatan dan penurunan. Nilai D-dimer dari 79 pasien COVID-19 mengalami peningkatan sebanyak 54 (63%). Disimpulkan bahwa pasien terkonfirmasi COVID-19 dapat mengalami peningkatan nilai D-dimer sehingga penting untuk memantau kadar D-dimer dalam masa perawatan pasien.