J Formos Med Assoc
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Circulating antibodies of the acetylcholine receptor (AchRAb) are detectable in most patients with generalized myasthenia gravis (MG). A newly discovered antibody against muscle-specific kinase (MuSKAb) has been detected in 40-70% of AchRAb-negative MG patients. We report a series of Taiwanese MuSKAb-positive patients, and compare their clinical features with MuSKAb-negative patients and also with MuSKAb-positive Caucasians. ⋯ Patients with MuSKAb tended to have severe disability and bulbar involvement, and more often experienced crisis or impending crisis. Although all of these patients showed an initial response to immunosuppressant therapy, they had greater disability at follow-up. The clinical features of Taiwanese MuSKAb-positive patients were not different from those of Caucasians, except for a lower prevalence.
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Review
Certainties and uncertainties facing emerging respiratory infectious diseases: lessons from SARS.
Every emerging infectious disease is a challenge to the whole of mankind. There are uncertainties regarding whether there will be a pandemic, if it will be caused by the highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus, when or where it will occur, how imminent or how severe it will be. No one can accurately predict if and when a given virus will become a pandemic virus. ⋯ SARS illustrated dramatically the potential of air travel and globalization for the dissemination of an emerging infectious disease. To prevent the potential serious consequences of pandemic influenza, timely implementation of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions locally within the outbreak area is the key to minimizing global spread. Herein, we relate our perspective on useful lessons derived from a review of the SARS epidemic that may be useful to physicians, especially when looking ahead to the next epidemic.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of combining ultralow-dose naloxone with morphine in intravenous patient-controlled analgesia: the cut-off ratio of naloxone to morphine for antiemesis after gynecologic surgery.
Admixing an ultralow dose of naloxone with intravenous morphine patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) has been shown to decrease postoperative nausea. However, the cut-off ratio of the naloxone-morphine admixture for antiemetic effects has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cut-off ratio of naloxone-morphine admixture in PCA for antiemesis after gynecologic surgery. ⋯ The antiemetic efficacy of ultralow-dose naloxone combined with PCA morphine is limited by a cut-off ratio of naloxone to morphine of 1:10,000.
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The objectives of this study were to: (1) survey migraine diagnoses among neurological outpatients in Taiwan; (2) compare neurologists' migraine diagnoses with the International Classification of Headache Disorders 2nd Edition (ICHD-2) criteria; and (3) evaluate the diagnostic ability of screening items on a patient migraine questionnaire. ⋯ Migraine was the most common headache diagnosis in the neurologists' clinics. Probable migraine was not completely adopted as a migraine spectrum among neurologists. In contrast to ID Migraine(TM), moderate or severe headache intensity replaced headache-related disability as one screening item for migraine in Taiwan.
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Respiratory distress syndrome resulting from leukemic pulmonary infiltrates is seldom diagnosed antemortem. Two 60- and 80-year-old women presented with general malaise, progressive shortness of breath, and hyperleukocytosis, which progressed to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after admission. Acute leukemia with pulmonary infection was initially diagnosed, but subsequent examinations including open lung biopsy revealed leukemic pulmonary infiltrates without infection. ⋯ However, new pulmonary infiltration on chest radiography and hypoxemia recurred, which was consistent with acute lysis pneumopathy. Despite aggressive treatment, both patients died due to rapidly deteriorating condition. Leukemic pulmonary involvement should be considered in acute leukemia patients with non-infectious diffusive lung infiltration, especially in acute leukemia with a high blast count.