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Purpose This study aims to design to assess the traditional, complementary and alternate medicine (TCAM) usage and its association with the quality of life (QOL) of Type 2 diabetic patients in a tertiary hospital (Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia) in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach A total of 300 respondents included in this study were divided into the following two major categories: TCAM (34.33% of respondents) and non-TCAM users (65.67% of the respondents), respectively. The mean ages of the respondents were 59.3 ± 10.2 for the TCAM users and 57.7 ± 12.0 for the non-TCAM users. Findings A greater percentage of non-TCAM users reported poor control of diabetes (14.7%) and blood glucose (55.8%) compared with the TCAM users (9.7% and 48.5%, respectively). Further, the diabetic patients on TCAM reported lower rates of coma, stroke and kidney problems but higher rates of diabetic foot ulcers, heart diseases and retinopathy than the non-TCAM users. Additionally, the diabetic patients with TCAM usage had a significantly better physical (p = 0.02) and overall (p = 0.03) qualities of life compared to the non-TCAM users. However, psychological, social and environmental health did not show any significant difference. Originality/value The prevalence of TCAM usage among diabetic patients was lower than in other comparable studies. Diabetic patients on TCAM reported lower rates of coma, stroke and kidney problems but higher rates of diabetic foot ulcers, heart diseases and retinopathy than the non-TCAM users. Further, diabetes patients on TCAM reported better QOL compared to non-TCAM users especially in terms of physical health.

Background: Post-operative analgesia is crucial in enhanced recovery after surgery and to minimize post-operative complications. There remains data paucity on the efficacy of preperitoneal analgesia (PPA) compared to patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). This study aims to examine the efficacy of preperitoneal infusion as analgesia following elective colorectal surgery. Methods: This is a prospective cross-sectional study of all patients which underwent elective colorectal surgeries, performed in a tertiary surgical referral center with dedicated colorectal unit. Patients from May 2017 to April 2021 who underwent elective colorectal surgery were included in this study. Pain scores were reviewed and analyzed at regular intervals post-operatively for comparison. Results: Amongst the 200 patients included, there were 174 patients in the PPA arm and 26 patients using PCA. Patients in the PPA group were older age (63.29 vs 56.00, P = 0.003). A total of 118 patients in PPA cohort (67.8%) and 21 from PCA cohort (80.8%) underwent open surgery and the remaining 82 patients underwent laparoscopic surgeries. Although postoperative pain scores were consistently below 5 and reduced in trend from 2 hours to 96 hours postoperatively in both groups, the pain scores on coughing markedly reduced in the PPA group when compared PCA alone. The total dosage of opioid required in PPA cohort was also significantly lower when compared to PCA group at the first 24 hours postoperatively 12.21 (±13.0) vs 20.0 (±14.43), P = 0.048. Conclusions: PPA is a comparable modality for analgesia after elective colorectal surgery that reduces the opioid requirement postoperatively giving adequate pain relief. PPA should be considered as an alternative modality for multi-modal analgesia.