Se Asian J Trop Med
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Se Asian J Trop Med · Nov 2007
Comparative StudyThe use of an In House Scoring System Scale versus Glasgow Coma Scale in non-traumatic altered states of consciousness patients: can it be used for triaging patients in Southeast Asian developing countries?
Non-traumatic Altered States of Consciousness (ASC) are a non-specific consequence of various etiologies, and are normally monitored by Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). The GCS gives varriable results among untrained emergency medicine personel in developing countries where English is not the first language. An In House Scoring System (IHSS) scale was made by the first author for the purpose of triaging so as to quickly asses patients when seen by medical personel. ⋯ Higher eye scores on the GCS were associated fewer poor outcomes. There was significant agreement between the IHSS scale and GCS scores in the assessment of non-traumatic ASC. The sensitivity and specificity of the IHSS score versus GCS were 71.9% and 100.0%, respectively.
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Se Asian J Trop Med · Nov 2007
A preliminary study of thiamine status in northeastern Thai children with acute diarrhea.
This study is a preliminary determination of thiamine status in children with diarrhea and metabolic acidosis admitted to hospital. Children with diarrhea (N = 14; age 2 m-6 yr) were divided into 2 groups according to anion gap type; group 1 (21.4%) with a normal anion gap (5.5 +/- 5.2 mmol/l) and group 2 (78.6%) with a wide anion gap (21.2 +/- 5.2 mmol/l). ⋯ High lactate (3.5 +/- 1.4 mmol/l) was found in 54.5% of group 2 and thiamine deficiency was observed in 18.2% of this group. In conclusion, no thiamine deficiency was noted in patients with normal anion gap, but thiamine deficiency was not uncommon in patients with a wide anion gap, regardless of lactic acidosis.
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Se Asian J Trop Med · Nov 2007
Seasonal variation of cave-dwelling phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera:Psychodidae) in Phra Phothisat Cave, Saraburi Province, Thailand.
Phlebotomine sandflies are widely distributed in Thailand. In view of recent occurrence of indigenous cases of leishmaniasis in Thailand, a bionomic study of sandflies was undertaken in Phra Phothisat cave, Saraburi Province, Thailand from August 2005 to July 2006. The insects were collected monthly by CDC light traps between 06:00 PM and 06:00 AM. ⋯ Some of the sandflies could not be identified and were assumed to be new species. Soil samples inside the cave were analyzed for chemical characteristics. The soil was characterized by moderate acidity (pH 5.8) with various amount of chemicals and nutrients.