A keloid represents an excessive overgrowth of skin beyond the boundaries of an injury. Earlobe keloids usually follow ear piercing and can become large, sometimes producing remarkable disfigurement. Surgical excision, pressure dressing, intralesional corticosteroid injection, cryosurgery, radiation, and lasers have all been used to treat earlobe keloids. However, none has produced uniformly satisfactory results. Combinations of more than one modality have also been employed to yield successful outcomes. We describe cryotherapy as a single modality to treat seven-year-old, multiple earlobe keloids. Three cryotherapy sessions with two freezing-thawing cycles of 30-40 seconds' freezing time and two minutes' thawing time, undertaken one month apart, resulted in complete flatness of the keloids and no recurrence after 5 years. We also evaluate keloid-related and operational factors that determine the success of cryotherapy as a monotherapy for earlobe keloids.
Foreign body aspiration is commonly described in infants and children. However, recently, a new
high-risk group was identified among young women, especially those from the Muslim population
who wear the traditional hair scarf. This is due to the habit of holding the scarf pin in between the
lips to free hands to adjust the scarf more easily. Talking, laughing, or coughing while fixing the
scarf may result in inadvertent inhalation of the pin into the tracheobronchial tree. We present a
case of scarf pin inhalation and the challenges encountered in managing this patient during the
successful removal of the pin via flexible bronchoscopy under fluoroscopy guidance. This particular
case was technically challenging for us as the sharp tip of the needle was pointing upward and
piercing the bronchial mucosa.
Foreign body aspiration is commonly described in infants and children. However, recently, a new high-risk group was identified among young women, especially those from the Muslim population who wear the traditional hair scarf. This is due to the habit of holding the scarf pin in between the lips to free hands to adjust the scarf more easily. Talking, laughing, or coughing while fixing the scarf may result in inadvertent inhalation of the pin into the tracheobronchial tree. We present a case of scarf pin inhalation and the challenges encountered in managing this patient during the successful removal of the pin via flexible bronchoscopy under fluoroscopy guidance. This particular case was technically challenging for us as the sharp tip of the needle was pointing upward and piercing the bronchial mucosa.
Hepatitis C infection is a global public health problem. This study was designed to identify the risk factors associated with hepatitis C infection among adult patients in Kedah state, Malaysia. A matched, hospital-based, case-control study was conducted at a tertiary hospital. Cases were adult (aged ≥ 18 years) patients with positive serology test results for hepatitis C virus antibody and detectable hepatitis C virus RNA from January 2015 to December 2018, and controls were age-, sex- and ethnicity-matched patients who were not infected with hepatitis C virus. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data on demographic characteristics and previous exposure to selected risk factors among the study participants. Associations between hepatitis C and demographic and risk factors were assessed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses. A total of 255 case-control patient pairs were enrolled. The multivariable analysis indicated that having a history of blood or blood product transfusion before 1992 (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 6.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.73-13.81), injection drug use (AOR = 6.60, 95% CI: 3.66-12.43), imprisonment (AOR = 4.58, 95% CI: 1.62-16.40), tattooing (AOR = 3.73, 95% CI: 1.37-12.00), having more than one sexual partner (AOR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.16-3.69), piercing (AOR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.04-2.80), and having only secondary education (AOR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.06-3.57) were independently associated with hepatitis C. No associations were found between health care occupation, needle-prick injury, surgical procedures, haemodialysis, acupuncture, cupping, or contact sports and hepatitis C infection. These findings demonstrate that hepatitis C risk is multifactorial. Having a history of blood or blood product transfusion before 1992, injection drug use, imprisonment, tattooing, having more than one sexual partner, piercing, and having only secondary education were associated with increased odds of hepatitis C.