Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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Serum sickness is a type III hypersensitivity reaction that occurs due to the deposition of excessive circulating immune complexes in patients treated with foreign proteins or haptens. Serum sickness induced by antivenin for snakebites has been frequently reported in the USA, but not in Taiwan. This difference may be due to the efficacy and dosage of antivenins administered to treat snakebites in Taiwan. ⋯ A 59-year-old male suffered from fever, headaches, polyarthritis, and diffused skin rash approximately 10 days after administration of the antivenin. The large dose of antivenin administered in this case might have been the cause of the development of serum sickness. Physicians should be aware of the potential for serum sickness in cases of large-dose antivenin use.
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Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) was initially introduced for diagnosing gastrointestinal and pancreatic lesions, and later on for lung and mediastinal lesions. It can provide tissue diagnosis of lung cancer where bronchoscopy is non-diagnostic. It is a minimally invasive method for lymph node (N) and metastasis (M) staging of non-small cell lung cancer, and is helpful for tissue proof of mediastinal mass with unknown origin. Few data on this topic have been reported from Eastern countries. We report our experience of using EUS-FNA for tissue proof of lung and mediastinal lesions. ⋯ EUS-FNA can diagnose lung cancer by confirmation of mediastinal lymph node metastasis, by direct puncture of lung tumor close to the esophagus. It is useful for lymph node (N) stations 5, 7, 8 and metastasis (M) staging in non-small cell lung cancer, and for the diagnosis of mediastinal mass of unknown etiology.
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Patients with diseased teeth, or those who are difficult to intubate, have a higher risk of dental injury during laryngoscopy. We report 3 cases of smooth endotracheal intubation using a paraglossal technique with a straight Miller blade in patients with poor dentition. Three patients with poor dentition were scheduled to undergo surgery under general anesthesia. ⋯ Direct laryngoscopy using the paraglossal straight blade technique avoids dental damage in patients with mobile upper incisors and no right maxillary molars. It is a practical alternative method that differs from the traditional Macintosh laryngoscope in patients with a high risk of dental injury during the procedure. This technique, which provides an improved view of the larynx, might also be helpful with patients in whom intubation is difficult.