J Formos Med Assoc
-
The authors describe the rare occurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in 14 aboriginals of Taiwan (ABT), a minor ethnic group now accounting for less than 2% of the total population in Taiwan. The observation is epidemiologically unusual, representing a low-risk ethnic group in an NPC prevalent area. With regard to patient characteristics, symptomatology and pathology, we have not found any appreciable differences in reports from other geographic areas. ⋯ Interestingly, 12 of the 14 patients were found to be exclusively from the Paiwan tribe residing in Pintung, a district in southern Taiwan. Since the exact prevalence of NPC in this minority remains unknown, it is not clear whether the apparent preponderance is real or merely causal due in part to geographic bias. To a lesser extent, however, our observations indicate that NPC is not an uncommon malignancy in Paiwan aboriginals of southern Taiwan.
-
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is endemic in Taiwan, with 15-20% of the adult population carrying the surface antigen (HBsAg). Hualien in Eastern Taiwan is relatively isolated from other parts of the island by the Central Mountains. The status of HBV infection among mountain aborigines in Hualien has not been studied on a large scale before. ⋯ The infection rate increased significantly with age (p < 0.05). The results show that HBV infection is a serious problem among the children of mountain aborigines in Hualien, with nearly one-third of them carrying HBsAg. Aggressive vaccination, as well as public health education programs, are greatly needed.
-
Case Reports
Dorsal root entry zone lesions in the treatment of pain following brachial plexus avulsion and herpes zoster.
Fifteen patients with brachial plexus avulsion injury and four patients with postherpetic pain submitted to dorsal root entry zone surgery. Nashold's method was used in all cases. The initial results in the group with brachial plexus avulsion injury were satisfactory. ⋯ Three patients with postherpetic pain had good pain relief in the initial stage after surgery. Two of these four cases were found to have a recurrence of some pain, which could be relieved more or less by oral analgesics. No mortality or major complications were found in this series, although eight patients complained postoperatively of mild sensory weakness which disappeared within two weeks.
-
From January 1984 to June 1990, we observed 42 patients with meningeal carcinomatosis, 20 men and 22 women, aged 21 to 80 years (median age, 53 years). The two most common primary malignancies were lung cancer (50%) and breast cancer (31%). Sixty-four per cent was adenocarcinoma. ⋯ The follow-up period of the entire group of patients ranged from one day to 50 weeks. The median survival was four weeks. Based on this study, combined therapy with RT and IT MTX is indicated for breast carcinoma with meningeal carcinomatosis, but the therapeutic effects are uncertain for lung carcinoma and other malignancies.
-
Because of unanswered questions about reference values for single-breath carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO) in Chinese, standardized DLCO measurements were carried out in a selected sample of 257 healthy nonsmoking Chinese aged 20-70 years. The methods of measurement essentially followed the American Thoracic Society (ATS) recommendations. The measured DLCO was corrected to a standard hemoglobin value. ⋯ Therefore, differences in DLCO values between Chinese and Caucasians may be explained by differences in lung volume rather than by ethnic variations in the inherent characteristics of the alveolar capillary membrane. Predicted values for Chinese should be obtained from equations established from this study rather than extrapolated from those of Caucasians. The results of this study will be of value to clinical laboratories dealing with pulmonary function testing for Chinese patients.