METHODS: The 4,501 patients were selected from National Cancer Patient Registry-Colorectal Cancer data. Patient survival status was cross-checked with the National Registration Department. The age-standardised rate (ASR) was calculated as the proportion of CRC cases (incidence) and deaths (mortality) from 2008 to 2013, weighted by the age structure of the population, as determined by the Department of Statistics Malaysia and the World Health Organization world standard population distribution.
RESULTS: The overall incidence rate for CRC was 21.32 cases per 100,000. Those of Chinese ethnicity had the highest CRC incidence (27.35), followed by the Malay (18.95), and Indian (17.55) ethnicities. The ASR incidence rate of CRC was 1.33 times higher among males than females (24.16 and 18.14 per 100,000, respectively). The 2011 (44.7%) CRC deaths were recorded. The overall ASR of mortality was 9.79 cases, with 11.85 among the Chinese, followed by 9.56 among the Malays and 7.08 among the Indians. The ASR of mortality was 1.42 times higher among males (11.46) than females (8.05).
CONCLUSIONS: CRC incidence and mortality is higher in males than females. Individuals of Chinese ethnicity have the highest incidence of CRC, followed by the Malay and Indian ethnicities. The same trends were observed for the age-standardised mortality rate.
METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 14 cases of children who were admitted to the Pediatric Neurosurgical Unit of Hospital Kuala Lumpur after sustaining head injuries caused by fan blades between January 2000 and December 2002 was performed.
RESULTS: The causes of fan-blade head injury included jumping on the upper bunk of a bunk-bed, climbing on a ladder, climbing up onto a table, and being lifted by an adult. Thirteen patients were injured by ceiling fans and one by falling onto an uncovered table fan. School-aged boys were the predominant victims. Mean patient age was 7.9 years (range, 1.0-12.2 years). There was a twin peak incidence of when the accidents occurred: just before lunch in the afternoon and bedtime at night. The types of injury were scalp lacerations, compound depressed fractures and multiple intracranial haemorrhages. Two patients had the complication of wound infection, and one of these patients developed cerebral spinal fluid leak. One patient died from severe head injuries.
CONCLUSION: Safety awareness among parents and caretakers are important as fan-blade head injury among children is preventable.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 81 cases of oral cancers were matched with 162 controls in this hospital-based study. Information on sociodemographic characteristics and details of risk habits (duration, frequency and type of tobacco consumption and betel quid chewing) were collected. Association between smoking and betel quid chewing with oral cancer were analysed using conditional logistic regression.
RESULTS: Slightly more than half of the cases (55.6%) were smokers where 88.9% of them smoked kretek. After adjusting for confounders, smokers have two fold increased risk, while the risk for kretek consumers and those smoking for more than 10 years was increased to almost three-fold. Prevalence of betel quid chewing among cases and controls was low (7.4% and 1.9% respectively). Chewing of at least one quid per day, and quid combination of betel leaf, areca nut, lime and tobacco conferred a 5-6 fold increased risk.
CONCLUSIONS: Smoking is positively associated with oral cancer risk. A similar direct association was also seen among betel quid chewers.
METHODS: The Birmingham Eye Trauma Terminology (BETT) system was used to classify injuries as globe ruptures, penetrating eye injuries (PEIs), intraocular foreign bodies (IOFBs) or perforating injuries. Demographic data, past ocular history, mechanism of trauma, ocular injuries, and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) before and after treatment were recorded.
RESULTS: The 205 OGIs included 80 globe ruptures, 71 PEIs, 48 IOFBs and six perforating injuries. Falls predominated in older age groups compared to the other mechanisms of injury (p<0.0001). A fall was responsible for 33 globe ruptures and 82% of these had a history of previous intraocular surgery. Globe rupture and perforating injuries had poorer visual outcomes (p<0.05), consistent with previous studies. Alcohol was implicated in 20 cases of OGI, with 11 of these due to assault. PEIs and IOFBs commonly occurred while working with metal. BCVA was significantly worse following removal of an intraocular foreign body. We found presenting BCVA to be a good predictor of BCVA at the time of discharge.
CONCLUSIONS: The causes of OGI varied in association with age, with older people mostly incurring their OGI through falls and younger adults through assault and working with metal. Globe ruptures occurring after a fall often had a history of intraocular surgery. The initial BCVA is useful for non-ophthalmologists who are unfamiliar with the ocular trauma score to help predict the BCVA following treatment.