Angioedema secondary to angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors

Angioedema due to whatever cause is potentially life threatening, especially if it involves the head and neck region. Patients at risk need to be identified and precautionary measures are necessary. The use of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEIS) has been associated with angioedema of the face and tongue. Its widespread use has resulted in an increased awareness of this rare but important complication. We report here a case of angioedema secondary to ACEIS developing a few months after initiation of therapy and discuss its clinical importance

Intramuscular versus oral iron supplementation in patients on renal replacement therapy receiving erythropoietin

Anaemia in patients on renal replacement therapy is a comrnon problem and response to treatment with erythropoietin may be iimited by functional iron deficiency. We recently studied prospectively for 22 weeks the effect of iron supplementation via intramuscular and oral vs intramuscular vs oral routes in 16 patients on chronic haemodialysis with renal anaemia treated with erythropoietin injections. The rise in haemoglobin was significant in all patients except those on intramuscular iron only. This study supports unconfirmed observations that oral iron supplenientation may be effective in patients with renal anaemia associated with functional iron deficiency

<it>Plasmodium ovale </it>infection in Malaysia: first imported case

Abstract Background Plasmodium ovale infection is rarely reported in Malaysia. This is the first imported case of P. ovale infection in Malaysia which was initially misdiagnosed as Plasmodium vivax. Methods Peripheral blood sample was first examined by Giemsa-stained microscopy examination and further confirmed using a patented in-house multiplex PCR followed by sequencing. Results and Discussion Initial results from peripheral blood smear examination diagnosed P. vivax infection. However further analysis using a patented in-house multiplex PCR followed by sequencing confirmed the presence of P. ovale. Given that Anopheles maculatus and Anopheles dirus, vectors of P. ovale are found in Malaysia, this finding has significant implication on Malaysia's public health sector. Conclusions The current finding should serve as an alert to epidemiologists, clinicians and laboratory technicians in the possibility of finding P. ovale in Malaysia. P. ovale should be considered in the differential diagnosis of imported malaria cases in Malaysia due to the exponential increase in the number of visitors from P. ovale endemic regions and the long latent period of P. ovale. It is also timely that conventional diagnosis of malaria via microscopy should be coupled with more advanced molecular tools for effective diagnosis.</p