A 30-year-old Chinese lady was admitted for hoarseness of voice of one month's duration. Clinical examination revealed a granuloma of the left vocal cord while chest X-ray showed an opacity in the lower lobe of the right lung. The provisional clinical diagnosis was tuberculous laryngitis. A biopsy of the vocal cord lesion revealed inflamed tissue with actinomycotic colonies. Cultures and sputum smears did not reveal any tuberculous bacilli. The patient responded to a 6-week course of intravenous C-penicillin, regaining her voice on day 5 of commencement of antibiotics. A subsequent CT scan of the neck and thorax revealed multiple non-cavitating nodular lesions in both lung fields, felt to be indicative of resolving actinomycosis. She was discharged well after completion of treatment. It was felt that this is a case of primary actinomycosis of the vocal cord with probably secondary pulmonary actinomycosis.
The cytological features of a rare case of undifferentiated (embryonal) sarcoma of the liver are presented. The cytology smears showed singly dispersed polygonal and spindle cells as well as loose clusters of cells held together in myxoid material. Neoplastic cells were generally large with round, oval or lobulated nuclei. The cytoplasm was variable in amount with ill-defined borders. Occasional multinucleated cells were also present. Hyaline globules were present on sections of the cell block. Immunohistochemical studies performed showed positivity for vimentin, cytokeratin and alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) in the tumour cells.
Squamous metaplasia (SM) of thyroid follicular epithelium is known to occur in a variety of non-neoplastic lesions as well in thyroid neoplasms, notably papillary carcinoma (PC). In follicular thyroid tumors, on the other hand, SM is very rare. This case describes cytological and pathological findings in a follicular adenoma (FA) that presented as a cystic lesion with extensive SM. The fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology sample in this case yielded only necrotic material from the cystic area and squamous cells, which being mostly of immature type, were not recognised as squamous in the cytological smears. The needle missed the solid (neoplastic) component of the lesion and on the whole the cytological picture was considered to be equivocal. FA can now be added to the spectrum of thyroid lesions that can show SM. Awareness of this will enable cytopathologists to consider non-papillary lesions in the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules that yield squamous cells.
This paper describes a modified method of quantitative determination of histamine in human skin wounds using fluorescence spectrophotometer. In this study, histamine was used as an indicator to differentiate antemortem from postmortem wounds. Skin samples were obtained from 20 corpses which were brought to Hospital Kuala Lumpur and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for medicolegal autopsy. Sections of human skin were processed biochemically for histamine determination using fluorescence spectrophotometer. Results revealed no significant difference in the histamine content of the antemortem wounds in comparison to postmortem wounds. Based on these results, detection of histamine is not suitable to differentiate antemortem from postmortem wounds.
Solvent abuse is deliberate sniffing of an organic solvent for the intention of altering the physiological state of the individual. It is also commonly known as glue sniffing because glue is the most commonly abused substance. This form of substance abuse is widespread throughout the world and usually popular among secondary school children and young adults because of its easy availability and it is cheaper compared with most drugs of abuse. In Malaysia this problem has been recognized especially among the children in East Malaysia. In this study, 37 children and young adults from or around Kota Kinabalu, Sabah were referred to Bukit Padang Psychiatric Hospital by the Anti-drug Task force for suspected solvent abuse. These children were interviewed using questionaire and examined physically. Blood and urine were analysed for toluene and hippuric acid. 27 of the children, age ranging between 8 and 20 years, willingly admitted to sniffing glue for a period between a few months to 2 years. Most of them were children of Fillipino illegal immigrants in Kota Kinabalu. Biochemical parameters were found to be normal. Two of them were pale with low hemoglobin and 7 had eosinophilia. Haematuria and proteinuria were found in 21 children (78%). 16 blood samples with toluene levels ranging from 0.3 to 41 microg/ml and 10 urine samples have elevated urinary hippuric acid levels ranging from 1.2 to 7.4 mg/ml. Strong positive correlation was noted between mean blood toluene levels and duration of abuse.
Consecutive renal biopsies received from 1994 to 2000 in Johor Bahru were reviewed. There were 441 cases, of which 407 were adequate biopsies (92.3%). Lupus nephritis formed the largest diagnostic entity (126 cases, 31.0%). This reflected the high prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients in Malaysia. The most common histological pattern of lupus nephritis was diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis: WHO Class IV (96 cases, 76.2%). Other diagnostic entities were minimal change disease (28.5%), proliferative glomerulonephritis (10.6%), IgA nephropathy (9.8%), focal glomerulosclerosis (4.9%), membranous glomerulonephritis (4.4%), transplant rejection (3.9%), end stage nephropathy (3.4%) and others (3.4%). The morphological pattern of renal biopsies in Johor was similar to that reported in the University Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
The objectives of this study were to: (i) evaluate the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the biochemical bone markers: serum total alkaline phosphatase (TALP), bone specific alkaline phosphatase (BSALP) and urinary deoxypyridinoline (Dpyr) in postmenopausal osteoporosis, (ii) compare the bone turnover of postmenopausal osteoporotic patients without and with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) against controls and (iii) identify the correlation between these bone markers and bone mineral density (BMD). We examined 42 postmenopausal women with BMD proven osteoporosis and 35 control subjects. Serum TALP, BSALP and urinary Dpyr were measured. All three biochemical bone markers showed comparable moderate diagnostic sensitivity but Dpyr had the highest diagnostic specificity. There were significantly higher serum TALP, BSALP and urinary Dpyr levels in non-HRT treated patients compared to controls (p<0.005, <0.0001 and <0.005 respectively). There were no significant differences in the levels of all three bone markers between HRT treated patients and control subjects. There was no significant correlation between TALP, BSALP or Dpyr and BMD in both controls and patients. In conclusion, the biochemical bone markers are not useful in diagnosis of postmenopausal osteoporosis but may have a role in monitoring progress and response to treatment. HRT treatment reduces bone turnover of postmenopausal osteoporosis.
Twenty-eight (28) strains of ceftazidime-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated from blood cultures of in-patients from University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur between March 1995 and August 1996. Three methods were used to detect the production of ESBL enzymes by these strains. These three methods include the double-disc synergy test (DDST), inhibitor-potentiated disc-diffusion test (IPDD) and the E-test ESBL method. All strains could be identified as ESBL producers using the DDST method by a minimum of two beta-lactams and these included either a combination of ceftazidime and ceftriaxone with clavulanate respectively or cefotaxime and aztreonam with clavulanate respectively. Similarly using a combination of either cefotaxime and ceftriaxone with clavulanate or ceftriaxone and aztreonam with clavulanate respectively would have detected all strains as ESBL producers. The IPDD method could also detect for ESBL activity based on combinations of beta-lactam antibiotics with clavulanate respectively. All combinations of beta-lactam antibiotics could detect for ESBL activity in all the strains except a combination of either ceftazidime and aztreonam or cefotaxime and ceftriaxone with clavulanate respectively. The E-Test method using ceftazidime alone and in combination with clavulanate was found to be the most effective method in the presumptive identification of ESBL activity in all the strains.
A 6-year-old Malay boy presented with fever and abdominal pain for 2 months. Computerised tomography showed a nodular mass in the left lobe of the liver. There was also portal vein thrombosis on the left side. Serum alpha-fetoprotein was not elevated and Hepatitis B antigen was negative. Biopsy of the liver mass led to a histological diagnosis of fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma. In view of extensive tumour involvement, he could not be operated on but was treated with chemotherapy. However, the tumour did not respond. While this is expected for fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, the possibility of the tumour having a component of ordinary hepatocellular carcinoma could not be excluded as the tumour was not resected. Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma is a rare histological subtype of hepatocellular carcinoma, associated with a better prognosis. It affects the younger age group and has no association with cirrhosis, hepatitis B virus infection or exposure to oral contraceptives, all of which are implicated in ordinary hepatocellular carcinoma. Serum alpha-fetoprotein level is usually within normal limits and other laboratory values are not contributory to the diagnosis. The diagnosis is usually suggested by radiographic studies viz. CT scan of the abdomen, which would show an irregular non-homogenous mass in the liver, and confirmed by histological examination. The most characteristic microscopical feature is fibrosis arranged in a lamellar fashion around polygonal and deeply eosinophilic neoplastic hepatocytes.
141 salivary gland lesions that were subjected to fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology at the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, from January 1993 to October 2000 were reviewed with a view to assess the sensitivity and utility of cytological diagnosis in diseases of salivary glands. The highest number of cases was seen in the sixth decade of life. There was no gender preponderance in salivary gland neoplasms except in Warthin's tumours that occurred predominantly in males. The parotid gland was the most frequent salivary gland needled. Seven cases (5%) presented with bilateral salivary gland enlargement. Cytological study yielded a neoplastic diagnosis in 74.5% cases. Of the neoplastic lesions, 71.4% could be definitely designated as benign and 25.7% as clearly malignant. Pleomorphic adenoma and acinic cell carcinoma were the most common benign and malignant neoplasms diagnosed respectively. 53 cases had histological correlation; of these, 49 (92.5%) were neoplastic. The overall diagnostic accuracy of FNA cytological diagnosis in salivary gland lesions was found to be 73.6%.
Over a three-year-period, 310 babies with prolonged jaundice admitted to GHKL were studied, to determine the incidence of alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency as a cause of the problem. Ninety-two babies (29.7%) were found to be alpha-1-antitrypsin deficient. The percentage incidence was found to be highest in Indians (33.3%), followed by Malays (31.9%) and Chinese (26.7%). There was a male preponderance with a M:F ratio of 1.6:1. Most of these babies presented at the hospital at the age of more than two weeks but less than one month. Apart from the problem of prolonged jaundice and alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, 2 had associated bleeding problems, 11 associated infections and 3 respiratory problems. Two babies had clinical features of Down's syndrome, 2 had G6PD deficiency and 1 had congenital hypothyroidism. AST, ALT and ALPO4 were high in 20, 26 and 3 babies respectively.
With the advent of new monoclonal antibodies that are applicable to formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded sections, immunophenotyping is becoming increasingly important in the diagnosis and classification of lymphomas. However, multiple factors such as fixation, trypsinization and even type of antibodies used have certain effects on the final outcome of the staining procedure. In this paper we report our experience and the problems encountered in our laboratory when we first tried to establish a workable immunostaining protocol for formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissue sections using the immunoalkaline phosphatase technique.
Formerly thought to have a constant incidence rate throughout the world, Wilms' tumour (nephroblastoma) has been shown to be less common among Asian children. A retrospective demographic and morphological study of Wilms' tumour histologically diagnosed over a 22-year period at the Department of Pathology, University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur was conducted to assess for inherent demographic and morphological differences between tumours in Malaysian children and those of Western populations. Thirty-seven cases of histologically proven Wilms' tumour qualified for inclusion in this study. 19 patients were Chinese, 13 Malay, 4 Indian and 1 Anglo-asian. 21 were male and 16 were female (M:F ratio = 1.3:1). Their ages ranged from 1 month to 4 years. 70.3% of the patients were below 2 years of age. 36 cases had unilateral and 1 bilateral tumours. Of unilateral tumours, 19 involved the left kidney and 17 the right. Histological assessment, based on criteria of the National Wilms' Tumor Study Group, revealed 20 (52.6%) tumours with a mixed pattern while 8 (21.1%) showed epithelial, 7 (18.4%) blastemal and 3 (7.8%) stromal-predominant patterns. Anaplasia was observed in only 2 tumours (5.3%). There was no obvious difference in age range and sex distribution, laterality of tumours and incidence of anaplasia between this and Western studies. No ethnic predilection was observed. A notably larger percentage of cases were below 2 years of age. Also, a larger proportion of epithelial-predominant and a lower proportion of blastemal-predominant tumours was observed compared with patterns reported from Western populations.
The group A rotavirus staphylococcal co-agglutination test was evaluated and its sensitivity and specificity compared with an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a commercial latex agglutination test (Rotalex). In addition, the storage stability of the staphylococcal reagents was ascertained. Examination of 136 clarified suspensions of diarrhoeal faeces by the staphylococcal co-agglutination test revealed a high proportion of false positives (26%) and uninterpretable results (34%) due to non-specific agglutination. Non-specific agglutination could be removed effectively by prior absorption of the clarified faecal specimens with unsensitized staphylococci. The staphylococcal co-agglutination test was less sensitive and specific than the in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay but was comparable to the Rotalex slide latex agglutination test. The staphylococcal reagents have a shelf life of at least 29 weeks.
A body recovered from the water does not necessarily imply that death was due to drowning. The diagnosis of drowning is discussed together with the significance of the "diatom" and biochemical tests.
Forensically important entomological specimens recovered from 95 forensic cases of human cadavers from April 1993 to May 1996 in Malaysia were identified and analysed. The results indicated that 73.7% of these specimens were Chrysomya species, occurring either as single or mixed infestations. Of these, the most prominent species were Ch megacephala (F.) and Ch rufifacies (Macquart). Other fly maggots recovered included Sarcophaga spp., Lucilia spp. and Hermetia spp., mostly occurring together with other calliphorine flies. A member of Muscidae fly, Ophyra spp. was also recovered for the first time.
A rare case of a 22-week-old foetus with unilateral adrenal cytomegaly and left diaphragmatic hernia is reported. Typical cytomegalic cells were found focally in the left adrenal but the right adrenal was normal. There was no stigmata of the Beckwith-Wiedermann syndrome. The association of adrenal cytomegaly with various congenital malformations, the significance and possible pathogenesis of this condition is discussed.
A total of 89 histopathologically proven ocular tumours and tumour-like lesions treated in Hospital University Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan over a period of nine years were reviewed for their age distribution, site of lesion and histological type. The tumours were observed in all age groups with a maximum prevalence in the first decade. Twenty lesions were malignant and 69 were benign. The eyelid was the most frequent location (51%), followed by the conjunctiva (32%). Retinoblastoma was the most common malignant tumour (10 cases) and dermoid cyst was the most common tumour-like lesion (16 cases).
Provision of quality care, service and blood products to patients while containing costs and the amount of blood used should be the aim of every blood bank. Therefore a prospective audit was carried out over three months to determine how efficiently blood was being used in elective surgery in the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur. Every case with blood crossmatched was monitored to determine the amount transfused and the posttransfusion haemoglobin level. Overcrossmatching of varying degrees was noted in almost all surgical procedures and overtransfusion in 45.5% of patients transfused. The rate of case postponement was 18.1%. These indicate inefficient utilization of blood and other resources. The transfusion index (TI) and range of units transfused were calculated for each procedure. They can be used as indicators of blood requirement and potential severity of hemorrhage. Suggestions to improve efficiency of blood utilization include the introduction and ongoing monitoring of guidelines on crossmatching and transfusion based on the data obtained here, by the hospital blood transfusion committee; the "group, screen and hold" practice for surgical procedures with high crossmatch transfusion ratios, low transfusion indices and a small range of units transfused could also be adopted.