One hundred and forty-one patients with non-traumatic paraplegia were reviewed. The common causative factors and the problems arising were evaluated. Management of the clinical problems were described. The need for prevention and early treatment has been stressed.
A "registry" of all known cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Malaysia, 1968-72, was established. Attention was focused on the State of Selangor where conditions are best for case finding. Age-adjusted incidence rates among Chinese males and females were 17·3 and 7·3 per 100,000; among Malay males and females, the rates were 2·5 and 0·3 and among Indian males, 1·1. The detailed ethnicity of 192 cases in Selangor was established. Estimated incidence rates for the Chinese sub-groups agreed with the pattern observed elsewhere: highest among the Cantonese, lowest among the Hokkien/Teochiu, with the Khek in between. There was no correlation between histological type and sub-ethnic group among the Chinese cases.
This is a study of 169 cases of attempted suicides who had been referred to or who had consulted a private psychiatrist. These patients were interviewed, examined and treated either as out- or in-patient in private hospitals during the years 1968-1976. Their demographic and clinical data were analysed, presented and discussed. The reasons and motivations tor the act were also obtained and summarized. In the follow-up study conducted, it was discovered that schizophrenic patients who had attempted suicide carries the highest completed suicide risk.
Ninety-six cases of severe malnutrition and associated nutritional disorders were encountered in children in the department of paediatrics for the year 1971. The predominant age group was in children under the age of two years. Malay and Indian children were affected more than the Chinese children with malnutrition. Protein caloric malnutrition had already affected the growth pattern of these children as the majority were below the 50th percentile in height and weight comparing them with Hong Kong childrens’ height and weight standards. Seventy-five per cent of the children presented with infection. Fifty-four per cent of the families with malnutrition had three to six children and in two thirds of the families the income was from $100/- to $249/- per month. Forty per cent of the children lived in the kampong type of houses with no proper sanitation. Worm infestation was common in this group. The mean haemoglobin, serum iron levels, and serum folic acid levels were lower in the Indians and Malays. Protein caloric malnutrition must be treated early because of its irreversible effects on brain and bone growth. It is recommended that some form of allowance either in the form of food or money be given to these children from poor social-economic background.