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Biomedical subjects

C Y Wong

Publications and source records attributed to C Y Wong.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Changes in refraction and ocular dimensions after cataract surgery and primary intraocular lens implantation in infants.

PURPOSE: To study refraction and axial length changes after cataract extraction and primary intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in children younger than 1 year of age. SETTING: Two regional hospitals. METHODS: After determining the IOL power for emmetropia, 80% of the value was used to choose the IOL for implantation to counter anticipated myopic shift with age. The main outcome measures were changes in refraction and axial length 3 years after surgery. RESULTS: Thirty-four eyes of 20 children (mean age 6.7 months +/- 3.9 [SD]) were studied. Refraction in the immediate postoperative period was +4.53 +/- 1.45 diopters (D). Three years after surgery, the mean refraction was -2.49 +/- 3.08 D (P<.001). Twenty-two eyes (64.7%) had surgery during the first 6 months of life (group 1) and had a shorter axial length at surgery (mean 18.92 +/- 1.32 mm) compared with 12 eyes (35.3%) that received surgery between 7 and 12 months (group 2, mean 20.29 +/- 1.00 mm) (P = .007). However, the final axial length was greater in group 1 (mean 22.67 +/- 1.04 mm) than in group 2 (mean 21.23 +/- 0.26 mm) (P = .019). CONCLUSIONS: Primary IOL implantation is an option for children having cataract surgery in the first year of life. Significant myopic shifts occurred, and this seemed to be more pronounced in younger children. It appears that rethinking current strategies for IOL power calculation may be required to achieve more optimal refractive outcomes.

Cataract↗

[Maggot therapy for treatment of severe infections in trauma surgery: "back to the future!"].

The ancient method of larval therapy for treatment of acute and chronic infections has become a revival and a new dimension with introduction of the Biobag (Vitapad). With use of this therapy trauma patients suffering infectious complications can be treated very effective, which can reduce the overall time needed for treatment and can result in diminished invalidity.

Animals↗

Paediatric tracheostomy in Hospital University Kebangsaan Malaysia - a changing trend.

Indication for pediatric tracheostomy has changed. Upper airway obstruction secondary to infectious disorders is no longer the commonest indication. The aim of this study was to establish data on indications, outcome and complications of pediatric tracheostomy. A retrospective analysis of pediatric tracheostomies carried out between March 2002 to March 2004 was done. Eighteen patients were identified. The commonest indication was prolonged ventilation (94.5%) followed by pulmonary toilet (5.5%). None was performed for upper airway obstruction. Postoperative complications were encountered in six patients (33.3%), the commonest being accidental decannulation notably in children less than six years of age. Twelve patients (66.6%) were successfully decannulated. The mortality rate was 16.6%. All death were non tracheostomy related. The commonest indication for tracheostomy was prolonged ventilation and tracheostomy in children is relatively safe despite complications.

Adolescent↗

Long-term results of autogenous palmaris longus frontalis sling in children with congenital ptosis.

PURPOSE: To investigate the long-term outcome of using autogenous palmaris longus tendon (PLT) sling for correcting congenital ptosis in children. METHODS: This is an observational case series involving 15 eyelids of 14 consecutive children with congenital ptosis who underwent frontalis suspension surgery using PLT in a university teaching hospital. RESULTS: One child had bilateral ptosis and the other children had unilateral ptosis. The age of patients at the time of surgery ranged from 2 to 7 years, with an average of 4.7 years. At a mean follow-up of 92 months (range, 80-104 months), all eyelids were successfully corrected with good lid height. No recurrence or other postoperative complications were encountered except one patient who developed a small skin fold over the PLT harvest site. CONCLUSION: Long-term lid position is remarkably stable after surgical correction using PLT. PLT sling appears to be a safe and effective treatment for children with congenital ptosis requiring frontalis sling operation. It could be a good alternative to autogenous fascia lata, and further studies, to compare these two sling materials seem warranted.

Blepharoplasty↗

A case of Langerhans' cell histiocytosis of the lung presenting with haemoptysis.

Langerhans' cell histiocytosis of the lung can be part of a multisystem disorder or an isolated disorder. Ninety percent of adult patients with Langerhans' cell histiocytosis of the lung are smokers. This article reports a case of Langerhans' cell histiocytosis presenting with haemoptysis. The diagnostic signs on chest X-ray, high-resolution computed tomography, and histology are highlighted, followed by a short review of the literature.

Adult↗

Founder mutation in the BRCA1 gene in Malay breast cancer patients from Singapore.

The mutation spectrum of the BRCA1 gene among ethnic groups from Asia has not been well studied. We investigated the frequency of mutations in the BRCA1 gene among Malay breast cancer patients from Singapore, independent of family history. By using the protein truncation test (PTT) and direct sequencing, BRCA1 mutations were detected in 6 of 49 (12.2%) unrelated patients. Four novel missense mutations in exon 11, T557A (1788A>G), T582A (1863A>G), N656S (2086A>G) and P684S (2169C>T) were identified in one patient. Two patients had missense mutations in exon 23, V1809A (5545T>C), which has been previously detected in individuals from Central and Eastern Europe. Three unrelated patients had the deleterious 2846insA frameshift mutation in exon 11. Methylation specific PCR (MSP) of the promoter region of the BRCA1 gene detected hypermethylation of tumor DNA in an additional 2 patients. Haplotype analysis using the microsatellite markers D17S855, D17S1323 and D17S1325 revealed a common haplotype for the three unrelated patients and their three relatives with the 2846insA mutation. These findings strongly suggest that the 2846insA mutation, the most common deleterious mutation in this study, may possibly be a founder mutation in breast cancer patients of Malay ethnic background.

Adult↗

Single institution's initial experience with sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: The sentinel lymph node is the first draining node from a cancer-bearing area and is therefore the first to manifest metastasis. In breast cancer it has been shown to predict the axillary status. Axillary dissection provides information determining prognosis and need for adjuvant therapy but carries a certain morbidity. Our aim was to determine the feasibility of detecting the sentinel node in a teaching hospital and whether the sentinel node accurately predicts the axillary status. METHODS: All patients with stage I and II breast cancer and non-palpable axillary nodes were eligible, including those with previous excision biopsy. We excluded pregnant women, those with previous axillary surgery and women with advanced breast cancer with enlarged axillary nodes. The sentinel node was detected with technetium-99m-labelled tin colloid and vital blue dye and removed, and axillary clearance was performed. RESULTS: A total of 312 patients were examined from August 1996 to December 1998. The mean age was 53 years (range 28-83) and mean tumour size 2.6 cm (range 0.2-9.0). The detection rate of the sentinel node was 86%. The sentinel lymph node predicted the axillary status with a sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 100%. The false-negative rate was 16.7%. CONCLUSIONS: Detection of the sentinel lymph node is feasible and it can accurately predict the nodal status of the axilla. However, the high false-negative rate precludes as yet the use of sentinel lymph node biopsy in replacing axillary clearance as the standard of care for breast cancer.

Adult↗

All that wheezes is not asthma.

Asthma is a common disease. Wheezing is not pathognomonic of asthma, however. One must be alert when appropriate asthmatic treatment does not provide adequate control. Other causes of airway obstruction must be considered, especially when stridor is heard. This report describes an elderly patient who had been managed as having asthma but had an endotracheal tumour.

Aged↗

A study on the prevalence of and risk factors for neck pain among university academic staff in Hong Kong.

The 1-year prevalence of neck pain and possible risk factors among university academic staff were investigated. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to all the full-time academic staff in one of the universities in Hong Kong. The 1-year prevalence of neck pain was investigated. The relationship between individual factors, job nature, psychosocial factors, and neck pain were also analyzed. The 1-year prevalence of neck pain among after being an academic staff was 46.7%. A significant association was found between gender and neck pain (p = 0.02). The percentage of female academic staff with neck pain (62%) was higher than that in male staff (38%). This matched the results of other studies, which demonstrated that neck pain was more prevalent in women. There was a significant association between head posture during computer processing and neck pain (p = 0.02). Among those with neck pain during computer processing, 60.5% had a forward head posture. However, a low correlation between psychosocial factors and neck pain was demonstrated (r = 0.343). Academic staff in tertiary institutions could be considered as a high-risk group of job-related neck pain.

Adult↗

Cost-effectiveness of CT thorax and bronchoscopy in haemoptysis with normal CXR for exclusion of lung cancer.

As fibre-optic bronchoscopy and CT thorax become more widely used, patients with haemoptysis who had normal CXR and sputum results are more commonly offered both CT and bronchoscopy to exclude lung cancer. Doctors who are under possible litigation pressure arising from missed diagnoses of lung cancer are often exhaustive in their investigations, even when the haemoptysis has been transient. The present study aims to investigate the number of cancer patients who can be detected with the two investigations, and compare recent similar study results with archive results. We found that despite the use of more efficient investigation tools, the yield is paradoxically much lower and, hence, less cost-effective than that of previous studies. The likely reason is that doctors tend to over-investigate, even for short-term, minimal blood-streaked sputum, which is common among simple bronchitis. In order to be more cost-effective, these investigations should be used more selectively and for high risk patients such as those with prolonged haemoptysis and those who are heavy smokers.

Bronchoscopy↗

Breast abscess as the initial presentation of squamous cell carcinoma of the breast.

Breast abscesses are common and rarely harbour an underlying malignancy. Antibiotics and drainage by aspiration are the mainstays of treatment. We encountered two post-menopausal patients aged 48 and 70 who presented with acute breast abscesses that had an underlying squamous cell carcinoma of the breast. Infective aetiology was considered in each case and pre-operative diagnosis is possible but requires a high level of suspicion to avoid a delay in diagnosis. Aspirate from the abscess should be sent for both culture and cytology and if drainage is done, then biopsy of the abscess cavity is essential. Clinicians should be aware of the association of this rare primary neoplasm of the breast.

Abscess↗

Changing patterns of strabismus: a decade of experience in Hong Kong.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Racial variation in the pattern of strabismus is known, but few large scale studies on non-white populations are available. Furthermore, longitudinal change in this pattern within a local setting has not been well documented in the past. This study aims to support the clinical impression that exotropia is more common in Chinese patients, and that the proportion of patients with exotropia has been increasing in the past decade. METHODS: A total of 2704 consecutive patients with the diagnosis of primary horizontal strabismus, seen in the strabismus clinic of the Hong Kong Eye Hospital, were retrospectively analysed to determine the relative prevalence of esotropia and exotropia. Characteristics recorded include patient demographics, type of strabismus, and whether the nature of the squint was constant or intermittent. RESULTS: 742 (27.4%) patients were found to have esotropia, 548 (20.3%) had constant exotropia, 1213 (44.9%) had intermittent exotropia, and 201 (7.4%) had microtropia. The proportion of exotropic to esotropic patients was shown to increase steadily throughout the past decade (p<0.0001). This was mainly accounted for by an increase in the number of patients with intermittent exotropia, and a corresponding decrease in the number of patients with esotropia. CONCLUSION: Exotropia was shown to be more prevalent than esotropia in a Hong Kong Chinese population. Furthermore, the proportion of patients with intermittent exotropia appears to be increasing, in contrast with esotropic patients. The exact nature of this trend, and possible aetiological factors will require further study.

Esotropia↗

Patterns of abnormal FDG uptake by various histological types of non-small cell lung cancer at initial staging by PET.

The aim of this study was to identify useful patterns of abnormal fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake by different types of non-small cell (NSC) lung cancer and to assess their clinical implications. One hundred and three sequential patients with newly diagnosed, pathology-proven NSC lung cancer were included. FDG positron emission tomography (PET) images were acquired using a dedicated PET scanner. There were 35 squamous cell carcinomas (SQC), 17 large cell cancers (LGC), 38 adenocarcinomas (ADC), 1 bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) and 12 non-classified NSC cancers. PET images were categorized into detectable patterns of necrotic center in the primary tumor, satellite lesions (T4), hilar lymph nodes (N1), and N2, N3, and M1 lesions by visual interpretation of PET images for SQC, LGC, and ADC (n=90; BAC and non-classified NSC cancers were excluded). The PET lesions were correlated with surgical pathology and with CT findings in inoperable cases. Necrosis was more commonly present in the primary tumors of LGC (53%) and SQC (43%) than in those of ADC (26%) (P<0.0001 and <0.01, respectively). The frequencies of nodal uptake in ADC, SQC and LGC were similar (71%, 60%, and 59%, respectively). However, M1 lesions were present significantly more often in LGC (41%) and ADC (34%) than in SQC (3%) (both P<0.0001). Significantly more surgically inoperable cases were found by PET (T4, N3, M1) in ADC (50%) and LGC (41%) than in SQC (26%) (P<0.001 and <0.02, respectively). Our results suggest a wide variation of PET findings for different types of NSC lung cancer. Identification of these patterns is useful in clinical PET interpretation, in that knowledge of the most probable association between the PET patterns and the histological types will facilitate initial staging and planning of management.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Surgical treatment of tibial plateau fracture in elderly patients.

This retrospective study involves 22 patients with displaced tibial plateau fractures who were treated surgically from July 1993 to April 1996. All the patients were over 60 years old (mean 66.3 years old, range 61-80 years). All of the patients were treated by open reduction and internal fixation with AO/ASIF buttress plates (Synthes, Bochum, Switzerland). Additional small fragment plate or inter-fragmental screws were used in some of them as indicated. Two patients died during follow-up of causes unrelated to the fractures. The average follow-up time was 49.8 months (range 36-68 months). The other 20 patients were interviewed at the outpatient clinic, and radiographs of bilateral standing knees were taken. By comparison with the uninjured side on radiographs, condylar joint space depression was noted in 6 patients. However, joint depression greater than 4 mm was not found. Malalignment with varus or valgus greater than 5 deg was not demonstrated in any case. Their range of motion was restored in all patients, with more than 120 deg of flexion and without extension lag except for the one who suffered a superficial wound infection. No complication required further surgical management. During the period of follow-up, no accelerated degenerative change in the operated knee joint resulted in total knee arthroplasty. Two patients needed occasional medical treatment for residual knee joint pain. Only two patients needed canes for assistance during walking due to old age and minor stroke. The results justify surgical treatment for displaced tibial plateau fractures in elderly patients.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Comparison of myocardial oxygen consumption using 11C acetate positron emission tomography scanning in a working and non-working heart transplant model.

OBJECTIVE: In acute cardiac rejection, changes in myocardial oxygen consumption occur; non-invasive detection of these metabolic changes would have obvious clinical utility. In the classic cervical, heterotopic, canine, transplant model, the heart is non-working. It has a low myocardial oxygen consumption. Creation of a working model with normal myocardial oxygen consumption would enhance validity of non-human studies. METHODS: Clearance of 11C acetate was determined by positron emission tomography (PET) scanning and compared with myocardial oxygen consumption in normal and transplanted canine hearts. Donor hearts from mongrel dogs (2.5-3 kg; n=4) were transplanted into the neck of adult beagles (12-15 kg; n=4), no immunosuppression was given. Two non-working hearts were modified to eject only coronary flow via the right ventricle. In two hearts, a novel working model was created with aortic regurgitation to load the left ventricle. Working and non-working hearts underwent PET scanning on post-operative days 2 and 4. Normal dog hearts (n=2) and native hearts of transplanted dogs (n=3) were used to validate the scanning technique. Coronary sinus and aortic oxygen saturation data along with myocardial blood flow (radiolabeled microspheres) confirmed that clearance of 11C acetate in normal and transplanted hearts followed a bi-exponential model. RESULTS: Myocardial oxygen consumption was correlated with the rate constant of 11C acetate rapid phase clearance (r=0.91) in normal and transplanted hearts. The working hearts had increased myocardial oxygen consumption compared to non-working hearts. CONCLUSIONS: This study (1) introduces a model of a working heterotopic cardiac transplantation with near-normal oxygen consumption; and (2) demonstrates that regional myocardial oxygen consumption in transplanted hearts can be detected by 11C acetate PET.

Acetates↗

Soluble E-cadherin is a valid prognostic marker in gastric carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer remains a major cause of cancer mortality globally but no good prognostic tumour marker is available. Soluble fragment of E-cadherin protein has been reported to increase in the sera of patients with cancer and recently was found to be elevated in 67% of patients with gastric cancer. AIMS: To investigate if serum soluble E-cadherin is a valid prognostic marker in gastric cancer. METHODS: Concentrations of soluble E-cadherin from 116 patients with histologically confirmed gastric adenocarcinoma and 40 healthy subjects were measured using an immunoenzymometric method with a commercially available sandwich ELISA kit based on monoclonal antibodies. RESULTS: The logarithm of the means of soluble E-cadherin concentration was significantly higher in patients with gastric cancers (mean 3.85 (SD 0.28)) than in healthy subjects (3.71 (0.18)) (p=0.001), and in palliative/conservatively treated cancers (3.91 (0.35)) than in operable cancers (3.78 (0.19)) (p=0.015). The logarithm of the concentrations correlated with tumour size (p=0.032) and carcinoembryonic antigen concentrations (p=0.001). The cut off value calculated from discriminant analysis on operability and inoperability/palliative treatment was 7025 ng/ml. Soluble E-cadherin concentrations higher than this cut off value predicted tumour (T4) depth invasion (p=0.020, confidence interval (CI) 1.008-1.668) and palliative/conservative treatment (p=0.023, CI 1.038-2.514). In contrast, the relative risks for lymph node (N2) metastasis, distant metastasis, and stage III/IV disease were 1.41, 1.33, and 1.55 respectively, despite not reaching statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Serum soluble E-cadherin is a potential valid prognostic marker for gastric cancer. A high concentration predicts palliative/conservative treatment and T4 invasion.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Gender-related psychosocial and cultural factors associated with condom use among Chinese married women.

The present study explored the interplay of psychosocial, gender, and cultural factors on Chinese married women's condom use. A total of 433 Chinese married women residing in Hong Kong participated in the study. Correlation results showed that participants' conservative gender attitudes toward sexuality and sexual decision making were related to less accurate HIV/AIDS knowledge and less concern about contacting the disease from their husbands. About 34.4% of the sexually active participants never used condoms in the past 6 months, and current condom use was associated with egalitarian gender attitudes, positive feelings about condom use, and concerns about contacting HIV/AIDS from their husbands. Among all participants, 32.5% reported that they would not use condoms in their future sexual encounters. Future condom use was related to shorter duration of marriage, accurate HIV/AIDS knowledge, egalitarian gender attitudes, current condom use, and positive feelings about condom use. Results from the logistic regression analyses showed that egalitarian gender attitudes toward sexuality and positive feelings about condom use were the most salient predictors for current and future condom use.

Adult↗