METHODS: Retrospective data on demographics, clinical presentation, outcomes and laboratory findings of 450 children admitted into Tuanku Jaafar Hospital in Seremban, Malaysia from 2008 to 2013 with documented diagnosis of RSV ALRI were collected and analysed.
RESULTS: Most admissions were children below 2 years old (85.8%; 386/450). Commonest symptoms were fever (84.2%; 379/450), cough (97.8%; 440/450) and rhinorrhea (83.6%; 376/450). The median age among febrile patients (n = 379) was 9.0 months with interquartile range (IQR) of 4.0-19.0 months whereas the median age among those who were apyrexial (n = 71) was 2 months with IQR of 1-6 months (P-value <0.001). 15.3% (69/450) needed intensive care and 1.6% (7/450) died. Young age, history of prematurity, chronic comorbidity and thrombocytosis were significantly associated with prolonged hospital stay, PICU admission and mortality.
CONCLUSIONS: Infants less than 6 months old with RSV ALRI tend to be afebrile at presentation. Younger age, history of prematurity, chronic comorbidity and thrombocytosis are predictors of severe RSV ALRI among Malaysian children. Case fatality rate for Malaysian children below 5 years of age with RSV ALRI in our centre is higher than what is seen in developed countries, suggesting that there is room for improvement.
METHODS: In this retrospective study, we reviewed the cases diagnosed with CVST admitted to our centre from January 2011 until November 2015.
RESULTS: A total of 15 patients were included in this review. The patterns of imaging findings as well as risk factors for CVST is discussed with a review of the literature and current management practices. One year followed-up showed full recovery (Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) of 5) in 10 cases (66.7%), whereas 4 cases (26.7%) with GOS of 4 (three cases with neurological deficits, and 1 case with mild symptom. There was one case of mortality in this study secondary to sepsis during hospitalisation. The presenting symptoms were mainly headache, focal neurology deficits, seizure and altered sensorium. Risk factors identified were oral contraceptive pills usage, chronic sinuses or ear infections, and obesity. Initial computed tomography (CT) scan showed various findings and haemorrhagic infarct was one of the common findings. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance venography (MRV) revealed majority of the patients had occlusion at two or more venous sinus sites. No patients had new or recurrent intracranial haemorrhage following initiation of anticoagulation therapy.
CONCLUSION: Thus it is considerable safe to start anticoagulation therapy in CVST patients including those with intracranial haemorrhage. We propose further neuroimaging to avoid missed diagnosis of CVST in patient presented with recent onset headache and CT evidence of unusual cerebral infarction.
METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of BA patients who underwent Kasai procedure at the Dr. Sardjito Hospital, Indonesia from August 2012 to December 2018. The cut-off values of TB7/TB0, GGT7/GGT0, and ALT7/ALT0 for prediction of patients' survival were determined by receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves. Log-rank tests were utilised to test the association between cut-off values and overall survival.
RESULTS: In all 46 BA patients (23 males and 23 females) after Kasai procedure were included, consisting of one type 1, 17 type 2A, seven type 2B, and 21 type 3. The cut-off values of TB7/TB0, ALT7/ALT0 and GGT7/GGT0 for overall survival was 0.455 (sensitivity 87.5%, specificity 22.7%, area under curve (AUC) 0.59; 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI): 0.42, 0.75), 0.481 (sensitivity 87.5%, specificity 18.2%, AUC 0.49; 95%CI: 0.31, 0.65), and and 0.31 (sensitivity 79.2%, specificity 9.1%, AUC 0.34; 95%CI: 0.18, 0.50), respectively. However, these cut-off values were not significantly associated with overall survival, with p-values of 0.18, 0.49, and 0.56, respectively.
CONCLUSION: The TB7/TB0, ALT7/ALT0, and GGT7/GGT0 might not predict the overall survival of BA patients after Kasai procedure. Further multicentre studies with a larger sample size is needed to clarify our findings.
METHODS: Medical records of patients who were treated for LM in the Paediatric Surgical Centre Universitas Gadjah Mada from January 2015 to January 2019 were reviewed. Scoring systems were used to assess the outcomes, including reduction of size, problems of aesthetics, functional problems, complications, necessity of further interventions, and interventions' frequencies.
RESULTS: During the four-year study, we included 31 children, consisting of 6, 5, and 20 patients in Groups I, II, and III, respectively. The total score did not significantly differ between Groups I, II, and III (14.67±2.80 vs. 13.40±2.07 vs. 12.50±1.47, respectively; p=0.056). Group II scored better in aesthetic problems than other groups (p=0.001), Group III scored higher in necessity of further interventions compared to the other groups (p=0.026), and Group I was higher in interventions' frequencies than the other groups (p<0.001). However, there were no significant differences in reduction of size, functional problems, and complications among groups (p=0.554, 0.151, and 0.076, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: There is no significant different effect of the three modalities treatment for LM, although one group might have more beneficial effects compared with the other groups due to different scoring system parameters. Further multicentre and prospective cohort studies with a larger number of patients are necessary to establish the existence and extent of our findings.
OBJECTIVES: This is an audit project aiming to evaluate the proportion of misdiagnosis among hospitalised communityacquired pneumonia (CAP) patients in the Respiratory wards of Penang General Hospital based on their initial presentation data, and their associated outcomes.
METHODS: We reviewed the medical notes and initial chest radiographs of 188 CAP patients who were admitted to respiratory wards. Misdiagnosis was defined as cases which lack suggestive clinical features and/or chest radiograph changes. In-hospital mortality and length of stay (LOS) were the outcomes of interest.
RESULTS: The study found that 38.8% (n=73) of the hospitalised CAP patients were misdiagnosed. The most common alternative diagnosis was upper respiratory tract infection (32.8%, n=24). There was no statistical difference between misdiagnosis and CAP patients in the demographic and clinical variables collected. In terms of outcomes, misdiagnosed patients were discharged earlier (mean LOS= 3.5±3.28 days vs. 7.7±15.29 days, p=0.03) but the in-hospital mortality difference was not statistically significant (p=0.07).
CONCLUSIONS: One third of our CAP admissions were misdiagnosed. Although initial misdiagnosis of CAP in our study did not show any increase in mortality or morbidity, a proper diagnosis of CAP will be helpful in preventing inappropriate prescription of antibiotics and unnecessary admission.
METHODS: The patients were evaluated clinically and FNP was graded using the House Brackmann (HB) scale. High resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) of the temporal bone was used to evaluate temporal bone fractures. Transmastoid facial nerve decompression was performed and the facial nerve function was re-evaluated in subsequent follow ups.
RESULTS: There were five cases with immediate onset and four with delayed onset of FNP. Only three cases had pure temporal bone fractures, the others were associated with other life threatening injuries. The sensitivity and specificity of HRCT temporal bone to detect the obvious facial canal fracture line were 50% and 40% respectively. 75% of patients with immediate onset of HB grade VI FN palsy who were operated within a month recovered completely. Surgeries for the delayed onset FNP were performed at a mean of 70 days (range 51-94). All recovered to HB grade II-III from severe FNP.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that transmastoid FN decompression surgery was beneficial to traumatic nerve injury. Early intervention resulted in better outcomes. However, FN function could still be salvaged even in delayed FN decompression.