A retrospective study of 224 cases of snake bites in Bukit Mertajam Hospital over a two year period is reported. Snake bites formed 0.5% of the total and 1.7% of the Medical and Paediatric admissions and accounted for 0.3% of the total hospital deaths. The commonest snake species involved was the Malayan pit viper. 89% of the patients escaped with negligible poisoning and went home in less than seven days. Most of the bites were inflicted in the lower limbs and occurred in the dark. Only 5% of the patients were given anti-venom, of whom one-third had adverse reaction.
The case of an elderly Chinese male opium addict with cauliflower ears is discussed. He had no history of contact sports that could have led to auricular trauma resulting in deformed ears. Besides cauliflower ears, he had features of chronic bronchitis. The association between opium addiction and cauliflower ears was first described way back in 1932. It was attributed to the prolonged opium induced sleep on hard surface subjecting the ears to repeated pressure and trauma. With the changing pattern of drug abuse, opium abuse related cauliflower ears will become a vanishing sign.
A 32 year old male thyrotoxic presenting with gynaecomastia, galactorrhoea and later complicated with hypokalaemic periodic paralysis is presented. The gynaecomastia and galactorrhoea resolved with treatment. To the best of the author's knowledge this combination of association in one patient has not been reported previously.