Hong Kong medical journal = Xianggang yi xue za zhi / Hong Kong Academy of Medicine
-
To evaluate the health-related quality of life in Hong Kong Chinese patients with chronic non-cancer pain. ⋯ There was a high prevalence of clinical anxiety, depression, and severe impairment in the health-related quality of life in Hong Kong Chinese patients with chronic non-cancer pain. Specific factors affected the health-related quality of life, likelihood of litigation, and social benefit.
-
To compare two models (The Pediatric Risk of Mortality III score and Pediatric Index of Mortality) for prediction of mortality in a paediatric intensive care unit in Hong Kong. ⋯ The predicted mortality using both prediction models correlated well with the observed mortality.
-
A 21-year-old woman developed severe muscle paralysis after sniffing toluene-containing thinner solution for 2 weeks. Her serum chemistries revealed severe hypokalaemia and a normal anion gap hyperchloraemic metabolic acidosis secondary to renal tubular acidosis. Her initial presentation mimicked hypokalaemic periodic paralysis, but toxicology screening of her blood and urine revealed the correct diagnosis of toluene poisoning. ⋯ On another occasion, apart from renal tubular acidosis, the patient also developed severe hypophosphataemia with the phosphate level decreasing to 0.15 mmol/L. Hypophosphataemia with such a low phosphate level after toluene poisoning has been rarely reported in the literature. Toluene inhalation can result in multiple electrolyte and acid-base abnormalities, and should be considered in the diagnosis of any young patient who presents with unexplained hypokalaemia and normal anion gap metabolic acidosis.