J Formos Med Assoc
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Malignant pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade is a life-threatening oncological emergency. Pericardiocentesis with sclerosing therapy is a life-saving palliative treatment procedure. ⋯ This patient developed pericardial constriction six months after mitomycin C pericardial sclerosis. It should be noted that pericardial constriction may occur if a patient survives long enough after successful pericardial sclerosis.
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Motor-vehicle incidents in Taiwan are a major cause of head injuries. Our objective was to analyze the characteristics of head injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents in terms of the injured person's demographic characteristics, time and types of crash, injury severity on the abbreviated injury scale (AIS), medical cost and benefits of helmet protection. For this purpose we conducted an epidemiologic survey of 2451 consecutive victims of traffic accidents, coming to, or managed at, the emergency care department of a large Taipei metropolitan hospital in 1990. ⋯ As expected, patients who did not wear a helmet had a greater AIS average and higher rate of fatality. Forty-one of the 42 fatalities were patients who had been riding on motorcycles without helmets. Helmets provide adequate protection and reduce severity of injury, and medical cost for motorcycle collisions.
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The application of loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP), a new method of conization of the uterine cervix used to diagnose cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or cervical cancer is presented herein. A loop electrode consists of a thin wire that allows deep excision of the transformation zone (TZ). The cone-shaped tissue removed can be examined histologically. ⋯ In two cases of high-grade CIN, subsequent hysterectomy revealed residual lesions on hysterectomized specimens. LEEP is a simple and quick procedure of diagnostic conization that can be done at the first visit without major complication. If the histopathology after LEEP is moderate- to high-grade CIN or invasive cancer, the conization cannot be regarded as a sufficient therapeutic procedure, and such a patient needs further treatment.