Assessing the spatial distribution of methadone clinic clients and their access to treatment

Using Geographic Information System (GIS), the spatial distribution of methadone clinic clients and their utilization of a treatment service in Hong Kong was analysed. A majority (93.7%) of the 63 methadone users recruited were residing in the same district, of which 84.1% spent not more than 15 minutes for traveling. Walking (55.6%) was the commonest transport mode followed by cycling (30.2%). There was no distance decay effect on traveling time, but an association between distance and transport selection could be demonstrated. The residence locations displayed a compact distribution, merging with the general population without any evidence of clustering. Though the distribution of methadone users could have been shaped by the location of clinic, it can also be concluded that methadone clinics at convenient locations are needed if maintenance is a key determinant of service effectiveness

Stridor in Asian infants: assessment and treatment

Stridor is the main symptomof upper airway obstruction in infants. It can be congenital or acquired, acute or chronic. Pathologies can be located from the nose down to the trachea. Common causes include laryngomalacia, vocal cord palsy, subglottic stenosis, tracheal anomaly, laryngeal cleft, vascular and lymphatic malformation, laryngeal papillomas, craniofacial abnormalities and even head and neck tumours. In this paper, we will discuss our approach to infants with stridor including assessment with flexible and rigid endoscopy and treatments to various conditions in a tertiary centre. Causes of stridor in infants undergoing rigid laryngotracheobronchoscopy in Queen Mary Hospital, University of Hong Kong Medical Centre between 2005 and 2011 will be retrospectively reviewed. Treatments according to various conditions will be discussed. Successful management of these neonates requires accurate diagnosis, early intervention, and multidisciplinary care by ENT surgeons, paediatricians, and paediatric anaesthetists.published_or_final_versio

Validation of smartphone addiction scale-short version among Malaysian undergraduate students

Smartphone addiction scale-short version or SAS-SV has been consistently found to have one-factor structure and proven as a valid and reliable instrument to measure smartphone addiction. However, it has not been validated among the undergraduate students in Malaysia. With the aim to address such empirical gap, this study has validated its one-factor structure and assessed its reliability and validity among the 680 undergraduate students in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Its content validity was first demonstrated. Subsequently, the findings of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) have supported and confirmed its one-factor model. Furthermore, its convergent validity and reliability were also proven to be satisfactory. Taken together, this study has demonstrated that SAS-SV is an instrument that can reliably and accurately measure or identify smartphone addiction symptoms among the undergraduate students in Malaysia

Sustainability of Treatment Effect of a 3-year Early Intervention Programme for First-episode Psychosis in Hong Kong

Parallel Session 1 – Health and Health Services: abstract no. S2published_or_final_versio

Index Patient and SARS Outbreak in Hong Kong

During the global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, treatment was empiric. We report the case history of the index patient in a hospital outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong. The patient recovered after conventional antimicrobial therapy. Further studies are needed to address treatment of SARS, which has high attack and death rates

Tumor necrosis factor-α-induced protein 1 and immunity to hepatitis B virus

Aim: To compare the gene expression profile in a pair of HBV-infected twins. Methods: The gene expression profile was compared in a pair of H BV-infected twins. Results: The twins displayed different disease outco mes. One acquired natural immunity against HBV, whereas the other became a chronic HBV carrier. Eighty-eight and forty-six genes were found to be up- or downregulated in their PBMCs, respectively. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced protein 1 (TNF-αIP1) that expressed at a higher level in the HBV-immune twins was identified and four pairs of siblings with HBV immunity by RT-PCR. However, upon HBV core antigen stimulation, TNF-αIP1 was downregulated in PBMCs from subjects with immunity, whereas it was slightly upregulated in HBV carriers. Bioinformatics analysis revealed a K+ channel tetramerization domain in TNF-αIP1 that shares a significant homology with some human, mouse, and C elegan proteins. Conclusion: TNF-αIP1 may play a role in the innate immunity against HBV. © 2005 The WJG Press and Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

Promotion of collaboration between medical and dental professionals

Includes bibliographical references (p. 25-26).published_or_final_versio