Abstract

Dengue fever is endemic in more than 100 countries, mainly in the tropical countries and is the most common communicable disease in Malaysia, with an incidence rate of 397.71 per 100,000 individuals. Globally, it is estimated that there are 100-400 million dengue infections annually, with 500,000 cases require hospitalisation each year [WHO, 2024]. The case fatality rate (CFR) of dengue varies significantly across countries, influenced by factors such as healthcare infrastructure and accessibility, timely diagnosis and case management, and vector control measures. Dengue is a systemic and dynamic disease with symptoms ranging from undifferentiated fever to dengue shock syndrome.

A recent published retrospective study  (Trop.Med.Infect.Dis. 2025 ,10,30.https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10020030) led by our research team  will be highlighted which evaluated clinical features and laboratory biomarkers of patients associated with severe dengue at Hospital Sultanah Aminah Johor Bahru, Malaysia admitted from 1st January 2022 to 31st March 2023. Records of 99 patients, categorised into ICU (51) and non-ICU (48) groups, were identified and analysed using SPSS version 28.0. Sociodemographic details, clinical features and laboratory biomarkers were collected. Patients aged 50 and older, with obesity, and pre-existing comorbidities were significantly more likely to be admitted to ICU. The four commonest warning signs in both cohorts were lethargy/ restlessness/confusion, abdominal pain, persistent vomiting and diarrhoea. Fever, or history of fever and thrombocytopenia were the two commonest severe dengue criteria present in both cohorts. ICU patients exhibited more signs of plasma leakage and abnormal laboratory findings, including normal white cell count, hypoalbuminemia, hyperbilirubinemia, and elevated creatine kinase. In contrast, leukopenia and normal albumin, bilirubin, and creatine kinase levels were more common in non-ICU patients. Hyponatremia and raised lactate dehydrogenase were seen in both groups. This study highlighted key differences and similarities in clinical features and laboratory biomarkers between ICU and non-ICU patients, emphasizing the need for further research to develop a comprehensive risk assessment tool for predicting severe dengue that resulted in ICU admission. Key principles of management on severe dengue will be focused and reviewed along with previous published studies. 

Biography

Dr Edmund L C Ong MBBS MSC FRCP FRCPI DTMH graduated from University of Newcastle Medical School, UK and trained in UK in Infectious Diseases, Tropical Medicine and General Internal Medicine. His research interests are in the field of opportunistic infections, evaluation of anti-infective agents, clinical epidemiology and innovations in healthcare quality improvement and clinical audit. He is a principal investigator and collaborates in numerous research projects including HIV, Tuberculosis, Dengue fever in Nigeria, South Africa and Myanmar. Dr Ong has contributed to numerous text books of infection and has co-authored more than 160 papers in peer reviewed journals. He is an examiner for both undergraduate and postgraduate examinations including MRCP, Dip in HIV Medicine and MMed qualifications. He is an International Global Advisor (Malaysia) for the Royal College of Physicians, London. He is a member and a former Chairperson of the British HIV Association Audit and Standard of Care Committee. He is a trustee of the Charity Health and Hope (UK).

Abstract

To investigate quality of life in children with autismspectrumdisorder.This study aimed to evaluate the validity of existingQoLquestionnaires for use with children with ASD aged 8–12 years. Method200children with autism spectrum disorder (male: 118, female: 82; 2~4 yearsold: 80, 5~7 year old: 87, 8~12 years old: 33) and 120 normal children (control group) are brought into this study. Separate path analyses were performedtoevaluate models of QOL and Intelligent evaluation. the PedsQL (PediatricQuality of Life Inventory) as robust measures used with childrenwithneurodevelopmental disorders.Results In the study,The test group hadlower scores on the PedsQL4.0 universality Core scale, in comparison withthecontrol group. Behaviour problems had a negative indirect effect onCommunity adaptation, mental health and school performance. And alower intelligence-related quality of life for children with autism spectrumdisorder and clinically significant autistic symptoms in comparison with childrenandfewer symptoms.The quality of life children with autism spectrumdisorder group was lower than normal group in the scores of physical functioningwere(62.30 ± 25.05),emotional functioning were(53.57 ±26.69),social functioning were(44.63±27.91)，and school functioning(38.69±30.60).Thetotals cores of PedsQL were(49.86 ± 23.32),with the difference beingsignificant(90.16±13.32、79.09±19.56、86.39±15.45、82.75±16.03、85.23±14.2，P<0.01).Conclusions Results suggest greater impairment in adaptivefunctioning and emotional disorders. For high-functioning children with autismspectrum disorder, potential positive development played significant rolesinrehabilitation, to achieve and maintain the best level of intervention.theseverity of the disorder and social support coping strategies were relatedwithLife self-care ability and adaptation, coping with Intelligent obstacleseriously .Physicians are encouraged to evaluate for early treatment intheoverall care plan.

Biography

Zhenhuan LIU professor of pediatrics, Pediatric acupuncturist Ph.D. tutor. He has been engaged in pediatric clinical and child rehabilitation for 40 years. Led the rehabilitation team to treat more than 40,000 cases of children with intellectual disability, cerebral palsy and autism from China and more than 20 countries, More than 26800 children's deformity returned to school and society and became self-sufficient. The rehabilitation effect ranks the international advanced level. Vice-chairman of Rehabilitation professional committee children with cerebral palsy, World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies. Visiting Professor of Chinese University of Hong Kong in recent 10 years. .He is most famous pediatric neurological and rehabilitation specialists in integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine in China. He has edited 10 books. He has published 268 papers in international and Chinese medical journals.

Abstract

I have never associated the term “therapeutic” with the meaning of a resolutory and definitive act for the person, but I have always glimed between its aims the indication of a path to the support and protection of those who live a precarious balance, both in Relation to their physical wellbeing both for their delicate inner condition, for their own self-image. Many are, in my opinion, the expedients to which we all resort to the therapeutic effects they have on our lives, because having experienced the efficacy we recognize them as useful tools to improve our existential condition. Today we speak with frequency of “therapy”, also only to refer to the salutary effect of a walk in nature, or to the availability of soul for a religious practice, intimate or practiced. It becomes “therapeutic” so, in the common use of the term, each of our desired activities addressed to the creation of something, concrete or conceptual, a sort of projection of ourselves towards some specific creative: theatre, painting, music, dance, Writing, etc. Valuable activities, along with many others. When I quote the word “therapeutic”, in any case, I intend to make the most of a conceptual suggestion inherent in the term itself: that of technique. In the strength of the term I intuit the path that implies, its ability to accompany the person, its effectiveness, through a plurality of individual applications, in reaching to cure. Each of us is able to use their own strategies along a therapeutic path aimed at overcoming a difficult phase of fatigue and/or pain. The therapeutic writing, therefore, directs towards an individual search aimed at increasing the forces of the interiority, in order to obtain thus a qualitatively better well-being. Many, from this point of view, the strategies to draw on, because when we focus on the care of the individual, or a group of individuals, we cannot limit ourselves to the defense Care of the biological process alone, seeking answers in the science of medicine, mainly, but we must also, or necessarily, dedicate ourselves to a further research that also takes into account the biography of the subject, the salient stages of his life. In this sense, particular attention to the work of inner excavation to be done or in place is fundamental to learn to interpret all the physical signals that the body often manifests as a response, conscious or not, to the discomfort experienced. The signs etched in the body, in fact, well embody the history of each individual: the reading and narration around the life of the body help to understand not only the pathologies encountered but the very difficulties of living, those hardships that if not elaborated by the psyche, They often result in a disease. If today I give birth to this work I wrote is because, after an experience matured in these 15 years, I have come myself to understand in depth how much the practice of writing Therapy constitutes an indispensable value, a certificate of knowledge, never an end in itself, in continuous expansion. Scripture, in this regard, must be regarded as another of the available cognitive instruments, albeit not least and not even conclusive, but as much as ever suitable for the subject and his need for support. In his being together path and technique of knowledge, it helps us better to unravel and to interpret also the symptoms less flashy but still related to the body, to the envelope of the being who knows how to express the language of the suffering. The writing and its unfolding, first individual and then collective, strongly urges a greater understanding of the other, a more pronounced predisposition towards those who are telling about themselves, a more heartfelt and natural attention to those who are listening, a Willingness to accept the new meaning of the life of others and of ours, in a climate characterized by an undisputed and pervasive trust. 

Biography

Will be updated soon

Abstract

We've all heard "laughter is the best medicine," but if that's true, why is "therapeutic humor" treated like some woo-woo alternative therapy instead of the evidence-based intervention it actually is?

In this genre-defying blend of comedy, science, and personal narrative, Prof. Frank Chindamo, CHP—former Saturday Night Live writer turned Certified Humor Professional (yes, that's a real thing)—investigates why modern medicine has systematically ignored one of humanity's oldest healing tools.

Drawing on cutting-edge research from Dr. Lee Berk and 400 other studies, Chindamo reveals how laughter reduces cortisol, boosts immune function, triggers endorphin release, and activates the same neural pathways as meditation… all without a copay. He traces therapeutic humor from Norman Cousins's legendary self-treatment to today's medical clowning programs, transforming pediatric wards worldwide.

But this isn't just science journalism. It's a call to action wrapped in a punchline. Through stories of comedians like Jim Gaffigan and Kevin Hart whose personal medical crises became comedy gold, Chindamo argues that laughter isn't just a complementary medicine—it's fundamental to human healing and connection.

Part manifesto, part memoir, and at times hilarious, this book asks healthcare to finally take humor seriously. Because if we can prove laughter works, maybe it's time we actually prescribed it.

Biography

PROF. FRANK CHINDAMO, CHP, has top-level experience in comedy, film, and TV production, Academia, app production, and business, with three successful startups so far. Prior to this, Frank was an award-winning Adjunct Professor in Web Video at USC, UCLA, Chapman, Pepperdine University, and Emerson College. He began his media career in writing and production at SNL and on Ghostbusters. Frank has won 30+ awards for producing comedy videos for HBO, Showtime, CBS, and more. He launched the world’s first mobile comedy channel, for which he was featured on the front pages of Forbes Magazine and the LA Times, and in the Wall Street Journal and the NY Times. He is vetted by professionals in humor therapy as a Certified Humor Professional of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. Please check out the 2-minute video intro at www.LaughMD.com to see how LaughMD has proven it reduces pain and stress in patients and providers in 5 different studies at USC (University of Southern California,) Chapman University and A.T. Still University. Results include: · 91% of participants with pain at USC Norris Cancer Center reported decreased pain, and 94% of those chemotherapy patients reported decreased stress. · 13% reduction in stress levels for providers at Chapman University’s Crean College of Health & Behavioral Sciences in only 3 minutes. · Patients at AT Still University reported a 60% chronic pain decrease after viewing 30 minutes of comedy per day for 28 days.

Abstract

Will be updated soon

Biography

Minerva kelada,MD Been involved in many research issues related with teenage kids And other health issues Dr kelada was an adjunct professor of medicine with UCSD For many years As well was a medical consultant for the California medical board of medicine. Has been in private practice for several decades, and missionary medical practice.

Abstract

This presentation reviews health policies of select BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) from a gender transformative, intersectional, and rights lens. It argues that health policies of none of the five countries are gender transformative, with South Africa coming closest in terms of being gender responsive.  The thrust of health policies of four countries appears to be on formal equality, with the South African health policy veering towards substantive equality.  The focus of health policies is on serving the health needs of vulnerable groups and reducing vulnerability, and not on addressing intersectionality.  The presentation points to the need for strengthening health governance from a gender transformative lens (representation and leadership in boards, capacity of staff, and legal provision of non-discrimination and right to health), health services across the life cycle of women, men, and transgender persons and for sexual minorities, and controversial/rights-oriented health services. Promoting intersectional organizing of marginalized groups is crucial for strengthening accountability to gender transformative health services

Biography

RANJANI K MURTHY I bring to the table around 25 years of experience in evaluation, e-teaching, training/toolkit development, mainstreaming and research on gender and development. With respect to evaluations, I have experience with project/programme evaluation, country programme evaluation, strategic evaluation, thematic evaluations and meta evaluations, and am one of the resource persons on an online South Asian course on gender transformative evaluation (going to scale globally this year). My sectoral focus has been on of issues of economic empowerment, food security, health/SRHR, disaster-risk-reduction, adolescent girls’ empowerment, masculinities and international commitments like SDGs, CEDAW and Beijing Platform for Action. My primary clients include UN organisations, Asian Development Bank, national governments, INGOs and NGOs. For the last five years I have been focusing on intersectionality, social transformation and looking at gender beyond binary. I was a Guest Tutor for the short course ‘Men, Women and Development’ as the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex for a year, and am on the editorial board of the international Journal Gender and Development. I am on board of three NGOs in India, and on Advisory committee of a South Asian study on backlash against women and expert committee of Indira Gandhi National Open University. I combine global and regional reviews with field research, evaluations and training in India and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Moldova, Sudan, Mozambique, Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Before consulting, I was managing programs and leading an organisation on gender and development.

Abstract

Childhood obesity continues to rise globally and within local communities, posing significant physical, emotional, and social challenges for affected children. As highlighted my presentation, “rates continue to rise both globally and within local communities,” underscoring the urgency of early, community‑centered prevention efforts. This work explores childhood obesity as a multifactorial condition shaped by nutrition, physical activity, sleep, family routines, environmental influences, and broader social determinants. The presentation emphasizes that “no single cause is to blame,” and that effective interventions must address the real‑life contexts in which families live. Key risk factors including high intake of sugary drinks and ultra‑processed foods, limited physical activity, excessive screen time, and irregular sleep are examined alongside structural contributors such as neighborhood safety, food access, school policies, and caregiver work patterns. Strategies for promoting healthy eating and increasing physical activity are presented through practical, culturally sensitive, and low‑cost approaches that empower families to make sustainable changes. The role of community partnerships, motivational interviewing, and supportive environments is highlighted as essential for long‑term success. My presentation concludes that childhood obesity is both preventable and reversible when communities prioritize healthy habits, equitable environments, and family‑centered support. As stated in the final slide, “healthy kids grow best in healthy, supportive communities,” reinforcing the need for coordinated public health action.

Biography

A general practitioner licensed in Iraq and registered at the Iraqi medical association. Graduated within MBChB from Baghdad University and obtained more higher medical degrees from British Universities. Pain management board certified from the American academy of Procedural Medicine. A Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health. Have a variable medical experience and expanded medical knowledge. Worked in different medical fields including patient care setting, healthcare management, and medical research. Passionate and interested in preventive healthcare, in primary healthcare, in public health medicine practice, in healthcare quality improvements, and in medical data management.

Abstract

Dr. Maria Dalamagka, MD, MSc, PhD Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) is an Anaesthetist - Physician, Acupuncturist. Her expertise spans anesthesia management in pediatric, autistic, surgical, orthopedic, urological, obstetric, and otorhinolaryngological cases, as well as emergency treatments. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she played a critical role in managing ICU patients. Additionally, she has explored acupuncture as an early intervention for chronic pain and acute postoperative pain. Dr. Dalamagka is an active editor for various medical journals and has contributed significantly to the field through her research and editorial work

Biography

Delirium after anesthesia, also known as emergence delirium (ED) is a clinical condition in which patients have alterations to their attention, awareness, and perceptions. In children, this often results in behavioral disturbances such as crying, sobbing, thrashing and disorientation. Emergence Agitation (EA) and Emergence Delirium (ED) are commonly used interchangeably, they describe two distinct conditions with emergence delirium being described in the anesthesia literature as a state of mental confusion, agitation, and dis-inhibition marked by some degree of hyper-excitability during recovery from general anesthesia. The commonly reported incidence of emergence delirium is about 10% to 30% of paediatric patients. Risk factors associated with emergence delirium are age, preexisting behaviours, types of surgery and the use of volatile anaesthesia. Transient agitation - delirium from sevoflurane anesthesia can lead to a variety of adverse events, such as airway spasm, shedding or displaced tracheal tube, dehiscence, or bleeding. Volatile anaesthetics may affect brain activity by interfering with the balance between neuronal synaptic inhibition and excitation in the central nervous system. Elevated postoperative pain has been suggested to underlie ED. But given that ED is seen in patients undergoing MRI, pain cannot be the sole cause. Treatment options include the use of premedication, analgesic adjuvants, single dose of propofol at the conclusion of the case. Midazolam premedication, intraoperative dexmedetomidine and fentanyl were associated with lower incidence of ED. The incidence of ED in patients receiving propofol is markedly lower than those receiving sevoflurane, despite the similar rapid emergence profile of both agents. Paediatric Assessment of Emergence Delirium (PAED) scale, developed specifically for children, is a valid and reliable scale. Watcha score is a simpler, reliable tool to measure emergence behaviour. There has been considerable progress in the neuroscience of anaesthesia and the application of new pharmacological agents, but the mystery behind the exact mechanism of ED is elusive. ED is a diagnosis of exclusion once other causes have been dismiss. There is no strong evidence of long-term effects and outcomes in children who developed emergence delirium after anesthesia. Prevention may be the best treatment but no one medication is entirely effective.