Se Asian J Trop Med
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Se Asian J Trop Med · Dec 2003
Epidemiology and clinical picture of the Russell's viper (Daboia russelii russelii) bite in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka: a prospective study of 336 patients.
Russell's viper (Daboia russelii russelii) bite is associated with a high incidence of morbidity and mortality in Sri Lanka. Hence, this study enrolled all consecutive Russell's viper bite admissions to the 'Unit A' of General Hospital, Anuradhapura, over a two year period from January 1996, to describe the epidemiology, clinical picture, treatment and outcome. There were 336 cases which showed the following results. ⋯ The mortality rate of the series was 2.6% (9 patients). Rural dry zone paddy farmers are the common victims of Russell's viper bite in Sri Lanka and its' envenoming leads to diverse clinical manifestations. Therefore, practically feasible preventive measures should be developed to minimize the incidence of bite and an evidence based management guideline should be developed for hospital practice.
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Se Asian J Trop Med · Jun 2003
Underweight schoolchildren in a rural school near the Thai-Cambodian border.
We report on the high prevalence of underweight children in a rural primary school near the Thai-Cambodian border. Ninety-five children were studied: anthropometric data were recorded and studied for their correlation with semester examination scores; 63.2% of the children (60 cases) were underweight; in addition, BMI appeared to be significantly correlated to the semester examination scores. Our findings also revealed problems of nutrition and sanitation among the schoolchildren. In conclusion, schoolchildren in rural areas should be considered a priority in the national health and nutrition promotion programs.
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Se Asian J Trop Med · Jun 2003
Historical ArticleThe co-development of liver and kidney transplantation (1955-1967).
Between 1955 and the end of 1967, the framework of clinical transplantation that exists today was established in a small number of centers in continental Europe, Great Britain, and the United States. At first, the primary organ was the kidney, but efforts to transplant the kidney soon strongly influenced the development of liver and ultimately all other kinds of organ transplantation. This paper reviews the pertinent history of these developments as outlined in a lecture given in January 2003 in Bangkok on the occasion of the Prince Mahidol Award for a life's work in the field of organ transplantation.
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Se Asian J Trop Med · Jan 2003
Clinical evaluation and emergency management of inborn errors of metabolism presenting in the newborn.
Close to 500 biochemically diverse genetic metabolic disorders have been identified. Despite their diversity, these diseases share a number of features. First, the majority of patients with an inborn error present clinically with one of five general phenotypes; acute encephalopathy, progressive encephalopathy, primary muscle disease, primary liver disease or primary renal disease. ⋯ In many instances, presymptomatic treatment of affected relatives, carrier testing, and prenatal diagnosis can be offered. The types of inborn errors and their mode of presentation in the newborn are discussed, along with a schema permitting their rapid diagnosis. The principles of emergency and long term management are also discussed, with particular emphasis on those disorders that present in the newborn period with an acute encephalopathy, the so-called "small molecule" disorders.