Singap Med J
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Medical surveillance of workers exposed to a lead hazard is a common practice in many countries. In Singapore, legislation on periodic medical examinations for lead exposed workers in factories was introduced in 1985. This paper discusses the results of the laboratory tests in workers exposed to inorganic lead in 1987. ⋯ The higher blood lead levels in Malays and Indians may have been contributed to by eating habits (eating with hands). The higher prevalence of smoking among Malays may also be contributory. The results in this study, while reassuring that no worker was found with blood lead above 80 micrograms/dL, also indicated that workers in some factories were still exposed to a health risk.
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A stratified random sample of 1000 elderly Chinese was drawn from the electoral register of three constituencies, namely Tiong Bahru, Henderson and Bukit Merah. It was only possible to interview 612 subjects. The questionnaire included social resources, activities of daily living, mental health and physical health. ⋯ Most subjects were in good mental health (92.2%). The prevalence of dementia was 1.8% and depressive disorder 4.6%. Senile dementia was more prevalent in the old-old (2.8%) than the young-old (0.5%).
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This is a prospective study involving seventy-two consecutive admissions of patients with fractures of the proximal femur over a period of eleven months. It reviews the incidence, pattern and clinical course of deep vein thrombosis in this group of patients. ⋯ Results show that the incidence of deep vein thrombosis is low and complications of thromboembolism and local complications secondary to venous stasis are nil. It appears that prophylaxis and active treatment of deep vein thrombosis in this group of patients may not be essential.
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Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) is a rare cholestatic condition seen locally. Its etiology is unknown and it is commonly associated with ulcerative colitis, another rare condition seen locally. ⋯ An interesting feature common to both patients was that of intra-hepatic ductal involvement. Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiogram (PTC) and Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatogram (ERCP) showed characteristic stricturing and beading of the intra-hepatic ducts.
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We screened 3276 voluntary blood donors for Hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) and VDRL. The results were analysed to assess the prevalence and the possible relation to age, sex, race and blood group. ⋯ HBsAg positivity rate among various blood groups is found to be not statistically significant (p greater than 0.05). However, this rate is found to be highly significant among racial groups (p less than 0.001) and the rate of positivity of VDRL is also found to be significantly different among racial groups (p less than 0.01), with the highest percentage of both being in the Ibans.