Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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We conducted this study to investigate whether formalin fixation is associated with the shrinkage of head and neck cancer specimens. ⋯ We found that head and neck cancer specimens shrink after formalin fixation. Therefore, we recommend that the specimen be measured immediately in order to avoid the underestimation of tumor size.
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Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), which is secreted by preantral and small antral follicles, has been found to be a valuable marker of ovarian reserve. The purpose of this study was to determine age-related changes in AMH levels that occur in Taiwanese women and to determine whether measuring AMH is a highly sensitive and specific tool for diagnosing polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in Taiwanese women. ⋯ Here, we provide data on Taiwanese women that demonstrate age-related decline in AMH levels and establish an AMH-based method for detecting PCOS, which may be used as reference data for future AMH studies on Taiwanese women.
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Objective Structural Clinical Examination (OSCE) usually needs a large number of stations with long test time, which usually exceeds the resources available in a medical center. We aimed to determine the reliability of a combination of Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS), Internal Medicine in-Training Examination (IM-ITE(®)) and OSCE, and to verify the correlation between the small-scale OSCE+DOPS+IM-ITE(®)-composited scores and 360-degree evaluation scores of first year post-graduate (PGY(1)) residents. ⋯ The strong correlations between 360-degree evaluation and small-scale OSCE+DOPS+IM-ITE(®)-composited scores suggested that both methods were measuring the same quality. Our results showed that the small-scale OSCE, when associated with both the DOPS and IM-ITE(®), could be an important assessment method for PGY(1) residents.
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Case Reports
Management of double-penetrating ocular injury with retained intraorbital metallic foreign body.
The prognosis of double penetrating ocular trauma is usually guarded. We report the good anatomical and functional outcome in a patient with double-penetrating ocular trauma associated with intraorbital foreign body. A 58-year-old man presented at the emergency room complaining of blurred vision of the left eye with stinging pain after he hammered an iron plate. ⋯ Prompt, careful preoperative evaluation and meticulous vitrectomy intervention are essential in the successful management of such patients. Posteriorly located intraorbital metallic foreign body should be managed conservatively. Long-term regular electroretinography evaluation is needed for possible retinal toxicity from intraorbital foreign body.
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Acute blood loss linked to severe hypovolemia and hemorrhagic shock is a critical condition in pediatric intensive care. This study was to investigate the role of various fluid resuscitation approaches to cerebral tissue oxygenation using a piglet model of hemorrhagic shock. ⋯ Effective resuscitation using a high concentration of inspired oxygen and adequate fluid infusion, either as a single-dose bolus of NS or combining this with a subsequent transfusion of WB, LR, or NS, helped to stabilize the cardiovascular condition of the tested young subjects and improved cerebral tissue oxygenation over the emergent first four hours. Furthermore, WB was the best fluid choice when used in addition to the bolus NS challenge for maintaining better brain tissue oxygenation when treating hemorrhagic shock.