J Formos Med Assoc
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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.
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One hundred and twenty-four gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) samples were harvested from 13 healthy and 111 diseased gingival sites in 10 patients with periodontitis. The total amount and concentration of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) in each sample was measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique using an ELISA Kit specific for this cytokine. The IL-1 beta was undetectable in 23% of the GCF from clinically non-inflamed sites (three out of 13), while it could mostly be identified in diseased sites (109/111). ⋯ However, no significant difference of crevicular IL-1 beta concentration (pg/microL) could be found among groups with different clinical parameters. Our results indicate that IL-1 beta was present in the GCF of most clinically non-inflamed gingiva and almost all diseased pockets. The significant elevation of total IL-1 beta amount and GCF volume in diseased sulci suggests that it is closely associated with the severity of periodontal disease.
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This study examines the weight-for-length index (WLI)--weight/height/the WLI constant, where the WLI constant is the ratio between the 50th percentile weight and height for the age and sex--for its appropriateness in estimating the status of body weight among school children. The WLI constant has been calculated for practical use and rapid calculation. Using the known percentile data in the Taiwan area, this report shows evidence that the WLI constant has changed a little during the past 30 years. ⋯ In an attempt to offer support for the findings, the relationship between WLI and the overweight index (actual weight/average weight for sex, age and height) were evaluated. The correlations between the WLI and the overweight index were excellent for each sex grouping (r = 0.91 for boys and 0.89 for girls). The results also suggest that the WLI appears to be a very accurate measure of obesity (sensitivity: 88.3-92.1%, specificity: 86.9-89.9%) for all the school children in this sample.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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The authors report a case of intracranial chronic subdural hematoma after spinal anesthesia for a perianal abscess. The chronic subdural hematoma was successfully treated by burr hole drainage. This complication should be suspected in patients who complain of prolonged headache, or who develop signs of increased intracranial pressure or neurologic deficits after spinal anesthesia.