A 28-year-old lady suffering from systemic lupus erythomatosus (SLE) with diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis (DPGN) and who was on oral cyclophosphamide and prednisolone presented with left lower limb 'cellulitis'. The 'cellulitis' of the left lower limb failed to respond to usual antibiotics which prompted evaluation of the clinical diagnosis. The diagnosis is made based on the presence of granulomas, multinucleated giant cells and acid fast bacilli on the skin biopsy.
Uterine leiomyoma is found in approximately 2% of pregnant women. One in ten women will have complications related to myoma in pregnancy. Myomectomy during pregnancy especially at Caesarean section is much discouraged in the literature. We present here 2 cases of large uterine myoma, situated in the anterior aspect of the lower segment, complicating pregnancy at term. Myomectomy in both instances allowed delivery of the fetus through the lower segment, making vaginal delivery in subsequent pregnancies possible.
Data is lacking with regard to the epidemiology of invasive haemophilus influenzae (HI) disease in Malaysia. This study was carried out to document the epidemiology of invasive HI disease in hospitalised Kelantanese children.
To determine the relationship between absenteeism rates and psychological intervention over a 6-month period in an agency with 334 employees in Klang Valley, Malaysia, which had the highest absenteeism rates.
The aim of this study was to find the dosage and pattern of neuroleptic drug utilisation for the treatment of acute schizophrenia in a general psychiatry ward. This is an uncontrolled study involving 112 schizophrenic inpatients. Patients' socio-demographic variables, the type and peak daily doses of neuroleptics prescribed to them were analysed. Chlorpromazine was the most commonly prescribed drug. The peak mean daily dose required by the patients was equivalent to 537 mg of chlorpromazine; and 400 to 600 mg/ day of chlorpromazine or its equivalent was generally sufficient to treat acute psychosis. The majority of the patients received neuroleptics within this dose range. Low potency drugs were prescribed in lower doses than high potency drugs. Patients treated with depot preparation tended to receive higher doses of medication than those prescribed oral medication alone. The doses of neuroleptics were significantly correlated with duration of admission.
Hyperplasia of the thymus is the most common anterior mediastinal mass in infants. It is however exceedingly difficult to evaluate by the weight of the gland as it continues to grow after birth until puberty and thereafter undergoes progressive atrophy. It normally maintains most of the radiographic characteristics of the normal thymus. Massive thymic hyperplasia, a rare variant of true thymic hyperplasia is extremely rare during the first two decades of life and clinically can cause mediastinal compression or acute and recurrent pulmonary infection. Two such cases are reported and the clinico-pathology is briefly described and discussed.
This was a retrospective study of the clinical course of 164 adult inpatients with acute renal failure (ARF) at the Hospital of the University of Science Malaysia admitted from June 1986 to May 1990. The mean age was 49.8 +/- 17.2 years. 33.5%, 54.9% and 11.6% were surgical, medical and obstetrical patients respectively. Obstructive uropathy, poor cardiac output or decrease in intravascular volume and infection accounted for more than 67% of the cases. Acute renal failure was present at admission in 113 (69%) patients. The majority of the patients (80%) had nonoliguric acute renal failure with daily output of urine of more than 400 ml. Compared with nonoliguric patients, oliguric patients had higher mortality (56.3% vs 18.9%, p < 0.01), and needed dialysis more frequently (43.8% vs 12.9%, p < 0.01). Early recognition of acute renal failure, improvement in early treatment of renal stones and discerning use of nephrotoxic drugs could result in decrease in incidence and severity of renal failure.
To determine the incidence of delayed intracranial haemorrhage and the indication for repeat computed tomography (CT), a one and a half year retrospective study was made. A total of 289 patients had CT scan for head injury of which 78 (26.9%) had multiple scans. Out of these, 5 patients developed delayed haemorrhages (one extradural, one subdural, and three intracerebral haematoma). The incidence of delayed intracranial haemorrhage in our series is small when compared with others. The main predisposing factors are decompressive surgery, hyperventilation and cerebral dehydration therapy. It is important to know when to repeat the CT scan. A review of the literature regarding this aspect is presented and compared with our protocol. Intracranial pressure monitoring plays an increasingly important role in the management of head injury and should be used to decide the patient requiring repeat CT. Follow-up CT without other indication is not necessary.
INTRODUCTION: Coitus and orgasm in late pregnancy are believed to facilitate the onset of labour. We aim to evaluate the relationship at term of reported coitus and orgasm with spontaneous labour.
METHODS: Women at term scheduled for non-urgent labour induction were asked to keep a coitus and orgasm diary. These women were recruited for a randomised trial on the effect of coitus to promote spontaneous labour. For this analysis, the women were categorised into coitally-active and abstinent groups according to their coital diary. Spontaneous labour prior to the date of scheduled labour induction was the primary outcome. Labour, delivery and neonatal outcome were also evaluated. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to control for significant variables.
RESULTS: On univariate analysis, the inverse association of coitus with spontaneous labour was borderline (odds ratio [OR] 0.6; 95 percent confidence interval [CI] 0.3-1.0; p-value is 0.052). Orgasm was not associated with spontaneous labour (p-value is 0.33). After adjustment, coitus (adjusted OR 0.4; 95 percent CI 0.2-0.8; p-value is 0.009) displayed a significant inverse association with spontaneous labour. Coitus and orgasm were not associated with any other adverse pregnancy outcome.
CONCLUSION: Women who reported coitus were less likely to go into spontaneous labour prior to their scheduled labour induction. Reported coitus and orgasm were not associated with adverse pregnancy outcome.
The Ministry of Health publishes national clinical practice guidelines to provide doctors and patients in Singapore with evidence-based guidance on managing important medical conditions. This article reproduces the introduction and executive summary (with key recommendations from the guidelines) from the Ministry of Health clinical practice guidelines on cancer screening, for the information of readers of the Singapore Medical Journal. Chapters and page numbers mentioned in the reproduced extract refer to the full text of the guidelines, which are available from the Ministry of Health website (http://www.moh.gov. sg/mohcorp/publications.aspx?id=24018). The recommendations should be used with reference to the full text of the guidelines. Following this article are multiple choice questions based on the full text of the guidelines.
An ectopic location of the thyroid gland usually occurs in the midline, starting anywhere from the tongue to the diaphragm. The occurrence of an ectopic thyroid gland in a non-midline site is extremely rare. We report a 32-year-old Malay woman with an aberrant thyroid gland presenting as a parapharyngeal lesion. She had a normally functioning thyroid gland. An ectopic thyroid should be considered as one of the differential diagnoses in the parapharyngeal mass.
The place of laparoscopic appendicectomy in the management of complicated appendicitis remains unsettled with reports of a higher incidence of postoperative intraperitoneal abscess. Most studies on laparoscopic appendicectomy in children have been done in the Western population. This retrospective review was done to compare laparoscopic appendicectomy with open appendicectomy in children with complicated appendicitis in a hospital in Malaysia.
Two cases of dislocation of total knee arthroplasty presented to us within the same week. The first patient is a 71-year-old woman who underwent bilateral primary total knee arthroplasty. The left knee dislocated three weeks after the surgery. Due to failure of conservative measures, she underwent revision total knee arthroplasty. The other patient is a 72-year-old woman presenting ten years after primary total knee arthroplasty, with a traumatic dislocation of the knee joint. She was treated as an outpatient with closed manipulative reduction.
Migraine is associated with a variety of personality traits. The objective of this study was to reevaluate the personality traits using Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) in migraine patients diagnosed by applying the new International Classification of Headache Disorders-2 criteria.
We present a previously-healthy 12-year old girl from a rural community and who was admitted to a district general hospital in Malaysia with coagulopathy and septic shock. Despite receiving intensive care, she succumbed to her illness. Blood cultures grew Burkholderia pseudomallei. Melioidosis is an unusual cause of paediatric Gram-negative sepsis among children in Malaysia.
Breast cancer is the commonest cancer in women and represents a significant problem from the clinical and public health perspectives. The aim of this paper is to report our experience of transitioning from screen-film mammography (SFM) to computed radiography mammography (CRM), and finally to full-field digital mammography (FFDM), and to evaluate the performance of these three different types of mammographic systems.
Previous studies have reported high rates of undetermined causes of pleural effusions. We aimed to find out the proportion of pleural effusions in which the aetiology is uncertain despite commonly available investigations.
Renal tubular acidosis (RTA) is a defect in urinary acidification in the absence of renal failure. All records of patients admitted to adult medical wards at the University Hospital USM (HUSM), Kelantan between 1986 to 1990 with the diagnosis of renal tubular acidosis were reviewed. Sixteen (16) patients were identified and fulfilled the diagnostic criteria. Their mean age at presentation was 28.9 +/- 0.74 years. The triad of muscle weakness, hypokalaemia and systemic metabolic acidosis were the characteristic features at presentation. Normal serum alkaline phosphatase and skeletal X-rays were noted. Their prognosis were generally good. Their mean serum bicarbonate and potassium on follow up were 17.84 +/- 0.35 and 3.82 +/- 0.05 mmol/L respectively. The importance of regular follow-up and long-term management is emphasised.
We reviewed 116 chest radiographs done in 70 adult asthmatic patients who were admitted to the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia from January to December 1989. The chest radiographs were abnormal in 23% of cases. Twelve percent showed hyperinflation and 7% had pneumonia. Eight patients diagnosed clinically to have pneumonia had normal chest radiographs. Seven patients had radiographic findings of conditions which were unsuspected clinically. These included two cases of pneumonia, one case each of fibrosing alveolitis, pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, mitral stenosis with left ventricular failure and right pleural effusion. In conclusion, we found that significant chest radiograph abnormalities in adult patients admitted for asthma were uncommon although chest radiographs were helpful in detecting complications or coincidental conditions. Chest radiograph is therefore an important investigation in adult asthmatic patients who are admitted. However, considering the cost and the risk of radiation, it should be done only in selective cases rather than as a routine procedure.
Study site: Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia
Almost all mediastinal teratomas are found in the anterior mediastinum. We describe a case of a 41-day-old baby girl who had teratoma in the posterior mediastinum. She presented at the age of 6 days with the problem of progressive jaundice and was found to have septicaemia. During septic screening, chest X-ray revealed a mass in the right mediastinum. Ultrasound and CT-scan of the chest showed a multiloculated mass at the right posterior mediastinum. Fine needle aspiration biopsy of the mass confirmed a teratoma.
Study site: Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM), Kelantan, Malaysia