South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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The pharmacogenetic syndrome of malignant hyperthermia (MH) in response to general anaesthesia, though rare, is usually fatal when it does occur. A case of anaesthetic-induced MH arising in a 10-year-old girl during intranasal antrostomy and successfully treated with dantrolene sodium (Dantrium; SKF) is described. A treatment protocol for MH is appended. The importance of an awareness on the part of the clinician together with prompt reaction to early tell-tale signs is stressed.
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The definition and conceptualization of the déjà vu phenomenon are interpreted in various ways. The common occurrence of déjà vu is the general population stresses the need for the development of specific qualitative features which will be valuable in the diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy.
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A biochemical screening programme for the detection of inherited metabolic disease was carried out on urine and blood samples from inmates of the Alexandra Institute for the mentally retarded, Cape Town. Of the 1087 patients screened, positive results for phenylketonuria were obtained in 3, for cystinuria in 2 and for Hartnup disease in 1. The overall frequency of metabolic disorders was 0,6%. It is evident that genetic metabolic disease as detected by current screening procedures makes only a small contribution to the overall burden of mental retardation.
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A case is described in which the rubber cap of a vial containing Brucella abortus vaccine came off accidentally and some of the contents splashed in the eyes of a veterinarian. A uni-ocular keratoconjunctivitis developed. The other eye was similarly affected 1 week later. ⋯ Extracapsular lens extraction was performed. Panophthalmitis followed and the eye was enucleated. The literature is reviewed and the possibility of a Brucella keratoconjunctivitis indistinguishable from viral keratoconjunctivitis is discussed.