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In response to the inability to conduct conventional face-to-face objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) due to the COVID-19 lockdown, this study explored options to design virtual OSCE (vOSCE) that meets the objectives and standards of effective competency-based assessment for a large cohort of pharmacy students. The vOSCE required advanced planning of the actual assessment and technical conduct. The development of a master plan consisting of the types of competencies to test, topics and number of cases, and assessment rubrics, guided the team members to develop an adequate OSCE assessment module. Technical aspects included recruitment of examiners, simulated patients (SP), technical support, and a platform for vOSCE. The main challenges were to ensure well-ordered vOSCE and a stable internet connection for examiners, SP, and students. Google Meet was utilised due to its functionality, familiarity, and low internet consumption to all parties involved. Feedback was obtained from stakeholders to improve future OSCE conduct.

Although efforts have been taken to educate the public about medication from a very young age, there are very limited availability and accessibility of education material for children. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of read-along videos of pictorial storybooks on children’s knowledge about rational use of medicines. This study compared pre and post knowledge scores in a nonrandomized, one-group pre-test-post-test experimental design. Pre-recorded read-along storytelling videos were used as intervention covering two topics on rational use of medicine -medicine storage and antibiotic resistance. The questionnaire and intervention videos were distributed using Google Forms to children aged six and seven in Malaysia via online social media platforms. 521 children completed the study. The mean baseline knowledge score for medication storage was 4.89 (SD = 1.12) pre-test and 5.44 (SD = 0.78) post-test while for antibiotic resistance the mean was 3.616 (SD = 1.340) pre-test and 4.820 (SD = 1.134) post-test. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed statistically significant changes on medication storage (Z = −10.21, p < 0.001) and antibiotic resistance (Z = −14.869, p < 0.001) related knowledge among children. Pictorial storybook read-along video interventions were shown to be effective in improving children’s knowledge on rational use of medicine. Education and awareness on the use of antibiotics should be prioritized.

preventive strategies among pregnant women infected with COVID-19. Method: The articles were retrieved from online databases PubMed and ScienceDirect published from February 2020 to April 2022. Findings: A total of 5249 participants including 5128 pregnant women and 121 placentas from 19 studies were identified for having TE complications after being infected with COVID-19. The types of TE complications that developed within pregnant women were disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) (n = 44, 0.86%), unmentioned thromboembolic complications (TE) (n = 14, 0.27%), intervillous thrombosis (IVT) (n = 9, 0.18%), pulmonary embolism (PE) (n = 6, 0.12%), COVID-19 associated coagulopathy (CAC) (n = 5, 0.10%), and deep venous thrombosis (DVT) (n = 2, 0.04%). Whereas the prevalence of TE complications reported from studies focusing on placenta were IVT (n = 27, 22.3%), subchorionic thrombus (SCT) (n = 9, 7.44%), and placental thrombosis (n = 5, 4.13%). Thromboprophylaxis agent used among pregnant women include low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) at prophylactic dose (n = 9). Conclusions: The prevalence of thromboembolic complications among pregnant women infected by COVID-19 is low with DIC being the most common form and placental thrombosis being the least common form of TE complications that occurred within pregnant women infected with COVID-19. Anticoagulation, in particular LMWH (variable dose), is frequently used to prevent TE complications.

Background Age and multiple comorbidities have been reported to influence the case fatality rate of COVID-19 worldwide, so also in Malaysia; however, to date, no scientific study among the local population has been published to confirm this. This study aimed to determine the overall demographics and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 non-survivors in Malaysia, stratified by age (< 65 vs. ≥ 65 years old). The mortality was also compared between two half-year periods: March–August 2020 and September 2020–March 2021. Method Daily reports containing demographics and medical history of COVID-19 non-survivors from March 2020 to March 2021 were obtained from the Malaysian Ministry of Health website. All information was extracted retrospectively and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics with SPSS. Results Of 1192 COVID-19 non-survivors, the overall mean (SD) age was 64.8 (15.7) years, with 64.7% male. Death was seen mostly among 50- to 64-year-olds (33.1%) and 65- to 74-year-olds (24.8%). The presence of underlying hypertension (61.8%) and diabetes mellitus (48.2%) were the most common comorbid diseases encountered in the COVID-19 non-survivors. Underlying hypertension, stroke, heart disease and dyslipidaemia were significantly higher among COVID-19 non-survivors who were ≥ 65 years old compared to those < 65 ( p < 0.05). Mortality was a lot higher in September 2020–March 2021 compared to March 2020–August 2020 (91.3% vs. 8.3%). Conclusion Older age, male gender and the presence of multimorbidity (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, stroke and heart disease) are risk factors that contribute to mortality due to COVID-19 in Malaysia, especially among those ≥ 65 years old.