Typhoid fever, which is endemic in Malaysia, affects all age groups and it has been stated that classical features described in textbooks were absent in children. The aim of this study was to find out whether this was true in the local setting and hence a retrospective study was undertaken.
Large ovarian cysts in the fetus are uncommon. Ultrasonography has helped in the detection of these cysts antenatally and in the newborn female infant. A case of bilateral ovarian cysts in a newborn is presented. The choice of management between conservative measures and surgical approaches remains controversial.
A pilot epidemiologic study of all cases of Reye and Reye-like syndromes was undertaken at 8 representative major hospitals in Peninsular Malaya from January 1st to December 31st 1986. The cases were classified as definitive Reye's syndrome, clinical Reye's syndrome and encephalo-hepatopathies. Less than 50% of cases reviewed fulfilled the National Center for Disease Control criteria for clinical Reye's syndrome. Causes of Reye-like syndromes/encephalo-hepatopathies included fulminant hepatitis, Japanese B encephalitis, dengue, septicaemia, and complex febrile fits. It was not possible to differentiate clinical Reye's syndrome from the other encephalo-hepatopathies by either the clinical features (except for jaundice) or biochemical parameters. Liver biopsy is necessary for a definitive diagnosis of Reye's syndrome in Malaysia, because of the high prevalence of Reye-like diseases. The mortality rate in the 2 groups of patients is similar. Ingestion of salicylates was not found to be significantly associated with Reye and Reye-like syndromes in this study.