In a study of 124 adult patients with bronchial asthma, 65% of them had associated rhinitis. In the asthmatics who had associated rhinitis, both diseases usually started within two years of one another but either disease might develop first. In 21% of the patients, asthmatic attacks were preceded or precipitated by rhinitis symptoms. In the patients who had asthma alone or those associated with rhinitis, no significant difference were found in terms of age and sex distribution, age of onset, and a positive family history of asthma, rhinitis or allergic diseases. Response to skin prick test using six different types of allergens also showed no difference in the two groups of patients. Sensitivity to house dust was common among both groups of patients as well as in the normal controls suggesting a common occurrence of house dust mite in our community and making the skin prick test using this allergen unsuitable as a test for atopy in our population.
Study site: Chest clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM), Kelantan, Malaysia
Seventy-five adult asthmatic patients with clinical remission underwent spirometry. Only 8.3% of the subjects demonstrated normal spirometry. The others had reduced vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), maximum mid-expiratory flow rate (MMF) and peak flow rate (PEFR). This study demonstrates that asthma can cause irreversible airflow obstruction and there is a poor relationship between symptoms in asthmatics and their respiratory function test results.
Study site: Chest clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM), Kelantan, Malaysia
Fifty-eight patients were ventilated for acute respiratory failure complicating respiratory diseases between 1985 to 1990. There were 19 cases of chronic obstructive airway disease (COAD), 17 cases of asthma, 16 cases of pneumonia and 6 cases with other diagnoses. Overall, 40% of patients survived and were discharged from the ward. Patients with pneumonia had the lowest survival rate (25%) whilst the survival rates for asthma and COAD were 47% and 42% respectively. Increasing age had an inverse relationship to survival rate (r = 0.96, p < 0.05) but the duration of ventilation did not correlate with survival. Patients who were electively ventilated before respiratory arrest had a better chance of survival (57%) compared with only 18% survival rate in patients who were ventilated as an emergency (x2 = 4.47, p < 0.05). Patients who developed other organ failure had higher mortality (71%) than those who did not (22%; x2 = 2.14, p < 0.05). We conclude that patients younger than 50 years of age, who were electively ventilated and without other organ failure had a better immediate survival after assisted ventilation.
The case histories of 22 patients with lung abscess and empyema presenting to Hospital University Sains Malaysia (HUSM) between 1984 and 1989 are reviewed. The presenting features of both lung abscess and empyema were similar. The commonest predisposing factor was pneumonia, and the commonest organism isolated was Staphylococcus aureus but in the majority of cases, no causal organisms were identified. All the patients were treated with antibiotics and in addition, closed chest tube drainage was performed initially in all patients with empyema. Three patients with empyema required additional surgical drainage procedures. Death occurred in one patient with empyema and in one patient with lung abscess. The features, aetiology, treatment and outcome of thoracic empyema and lung abscess are discussed.
A questionnaire survey to study the smoking habits and attitudes toward smoking among secondary school teachers in Kelantan, Malaysia was conducted between July and September 1992. Questionnaires were sent to 5,112 teachers through their respective headmasters. Sixty-three percent (3,208 teachers; 61% males, 39% females) responded satisfactorily. Overall, 625 teachers (20%) were current smokers, 141 (4%) were occasional smokers, 317 (10%) were ex-smokers and 2,123 (67%) had never smoked. Only six (0.8%) of the 766 regular and occasional smokers were females. The rates of smoking among parents and siblings of smokers were higher than parents and siblings of non-smokers. Seventy-four percent of the smoking teachers admitted to smoking in the school premises. The teachers' attitudes about the health effects of smoking were statistically different between smokers and non-smokers. However, both smoking and non-smoking teachers had similar views regarding methods to control the smoking habit which included banning cigarette sales, putting a halt to the tobacco industry and banning cigarette advertisements.
A questionnaire survey on smoking was conducted among 395 medical students (40% males, 60% females) at the School of Medical Sciences, University Sains Malaysia at Kubang Kerian, Kelantan. Thirty-five students (9%), all of them males, were current smokers. Twenty-eight percent of the smokers smoked more than ten cigarettes per day and 88% began smoking before entering the medical school. Social influence and cigarette advertisements were the main reasons given for starting smoking. Both smokers and nonsmokers were adequately informed of the common adverse effects of smoking. Ninety percent of smokers had tried to give up smoking but failed. Among the ex-smokers and nonsmokers, the main reasons given for not smoking was that smoking was useless. Among the female students, one-third felt that cigarette smoking was socially unacceptable among females. This was one of the three main reasons for not smoking. Very few of the students (4.6%) considered that doctors' advice would play an important role in smoking prevention.
A study of the smoking habits and attitudes toward smoking among 120 doctors at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia was conducted between May to August 1991. Eighteen percent of the doctors were smokers, 13% ex-smokers and 69% had never smoked. All the smokers were male and all except one smoked only cigarettes. Three of the 32 female doctors were ex-smokers. Nineteen of the 21 smokers only smoked in areas where they could not be seen by the public. Most doctors (equally among smokers and non-smokers) had first-degree relatives (mostly males) who were smokers and 28% had relative with smoking-related disease. 81% non-smoking and 43% smoking doctors had advised healthy people to stop smoking. 92% non-smoking and 52% smoking doctors support the smoking-ban in the hospital. Seven of the 21 smokers had never attempted to quit smoking.
The value of tuberculin skin testing in the diagnosis of active tuberculosis remains uncertain. Interpretation of tuberculin tests would be easier if the tuberculin test profiles in different communities were accurately known. We reviewed 468 Mantoux test reactions in patients coming to Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia with suspected tuberculosis. Eighty six percent of patients with active tuberculosis had a positive Mantoux test. Forty two percent of the cases of positive Mantoux test did not have evidence of active tuberculosis. Most of these cases had evidence of past infection with tuberculosis. We conclude that Mantoux test is a sensitive but a non-specific test in the diagnosis of active tuberculosis.
Study site: outpatients, inpatients; Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, 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
Two hundred and ninety-three bronchoscopies were done for 285 patients (78% males, 22% females) at Hospital University Sains Malaysia between 1984 and 1988. The mean age was 56.4 years (range 13 to 90 years). 70.2% of patients underwent bronchoscopies to confirm or exclude the diagnosis of carcinoma of the bronchus, out of which 58% were confirmed to have bronchial carcinoma. 77% of the 98 patients with visible endobronchial tumours had biopsy specimens diagnostic of malignancy. Brushing and washing cytology increased the positive yield to 92%. The commonest histological type of bronchial carcinoma identified was squamous cell carcinoma (48.1%), followed by small cell carcinoma (27.1%), anaplastic/undifferentiated carcinoma (12.9%), adenocarcinoma (9.4%) and large cell carcinoma (2.4%). Bronchoscopy for the investigation of haemoptysis identified the commonest cause as 'bronchitis'. There were no complications noted in our series. Notable differences of our experience compared to that of the western series were the high percentage of bronchoscopy done for infective respiratory disorders and the younger age of our patients.
A review of 119 patients (88 males and 31 females) with carcinoma of the lung seen at the Hospital University Sains Malaysia (HUSM) from 1984 to 1989 was done. The mean age of the patients was 60.3 years with a high proportion (76.6%) of them were between 41 and 70 years. Seventy five percent of patients (84% of men and 26% of women) were smokers. The Chinese have a significantly higher preponderance to carcinoma of the lung. The commonest histological type found was squamous cell carcinoma in men and adenocarcinoma in women. Small cell carcinoma was uncommon. Squamous cell and large cell/undifferentiated type of carcinoma were significantly associated with smoking behaviour of the patients.
Twenty-nine patients (16 males, 13 females) with spontaneous pneumothorax admitted into Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, from September 1984 to September 1990 were reviewed. Their ages ranged from newborn to 75 years. The commonest chief presenting symptom was dyspnoea (69%), followed by chest pain (35%). Four patients had chronic obstructive airway disease, 7 had pneumonia, 2 had pulmonary tuberculosis, one patient had emphysema while 4 patients had multiple underlying lung disorders. The left and right lungs were involved with equal frequency. Bilateral pneumothorax occurred in one patient. Most patients had a single episode of pneumothorax but recurrent pneumothoraces occurred in 3 patients (10%). Six patients were observed conservatively, 20 patients required chest tube insertion alone and 3 patients also required pleurodesis. Death occurred in 8 patients (28%) mainly due to coexisting infection and respiratory failure.
We collected data on patients above the age of 5 years with acute bronchial asthma who presented to the emergency room of Hospital Sains Universiti Sains Malaysia during the period between 1 January to 31 March 1990. Two hundred and twelve patients (57% males and 43% females) who made a total of 271 visits were recorded. This constitutes 16.3% of all adults and paediatric medical cases seen in the emergency room during this period. The majority of patients presented between 8 pm and 6 am which contrasts with the attendance pattern due to other causes. We also recorded two peak periods of presentation (between 8 pm and 12 midnight and between 6 am and 10 am). Thirty-one (11.4%) cases resulted in admission. Of the 240 cases that were successfully treated and discharged from the emergency room, there were 59 relapses (in 45 patients). Twenty-two percent of the relapses occurred within 24 hours of the last visits. We recorded lower rates of admission as well as relapses compared to all previous studies. Our finding of bimodal pattern of presentations was also not previously reported.
Study site: Emergency department, Hospital Sains Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia