972 research outputs found
Unilateral epistaxis after swimming in a stream
A 55-year-old Chinese woman presented with a 3-week history of unilateral left-sided epistaxis and nasal obstruction. She had swum in a freshwater stream 1 month prior to the onset of symptoms. Endoscopic examination revealed a live leech at the left middle meatus with a large part of its body inside the left maxillary antrum. Local anaesthetic was applied to anaesthetise the leech and facilitate removal. Magnetic resonance imaging performed following removal confirmed that no other leeches were present in the sinonasal area. The endoparasitism might have persisted because of the inconspicuous site of infestation and the absence of pain. This form of leech infestation has not been previously reported.published_or_final_versio
An Internet-Based Intervention to Promote Alcohol-Related Attitudinal and Behavioral Change Among Adolescents: Protocol of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
published_or_final_versio
Evaluation of a peer counselling programme to sustain breastfeeding practice in Hong Kong
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Peer counselling is reported to increase breastfeeding rates. We evaluated an intervention consisting of mainly telephone contact peer counselling programme on breastfeeding duration and exclusivity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Peer counsellors (PCs) were mothers who had successfully breastfed and had received formal training. Following a postnatal visit, they provided scheduled telephone consultations (Days 1, 4, 7, Weeks 2, 4, 8, and Month 4) to PC group mothers (n = 100) who continued breastfeeding their infants after discharge. Control group mothers (n = 100) received routine care.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After adjusting for mothers' previous breastfeeding experiences, mothers' working status and breastfeeding problems, no statistical differences in mothers' feeding methods (exclusive, almost exclusive or predominant breastfeeding) were noted at the three follow-up times for intervention and control mothers respectively (Day 5: 37%/38%, 46%/53%, 57%/63%; Month 3: 10%/9%, 17%/23%, 20%/26%; Month 6: 2%/1%, 18%/18%, 18%/19%). All differences between the groups were not significant. Also, there was no evidence to suggest that PC intervention prolonged breastfeeding duration.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The lack of effect of our PC intervention may reflect the low baseline breastfeeding rate and low value placed on breastfeeding in our population, the type of PC intervention or group allocation biases.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCTN93605280.</p
Validation and application of health utilities index in Chinese subjects with Down Syndrome
published_or_final_versio
A community study on burden and depressive symptoms among carers of demented relatives
Background: Most mild to moderate demented patients
are cared at home. Studies have shown that carers face
increased stress and are prone to depression. In order to
understand their needs, a collaboration study between
District Board, Community Rehabilitation Network and
local hospitals was done. Objective: (1) To understand
care needs of demented patients and their carers in the
family. (2) To assess difficulties faced by carers and evaluate
their stress. (3) To find out which factors may aggravate
or relieve carer stress. Method: The study was performed
by interviewing 100 carers by questionnaire. Three main
themes were studied: (1) presence of depression by Center
for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), (2)
caregiver burden by Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), patients’
memory and behavioural problems by Revised Memory
and Behaviour Problems Checklist (RMBPC), patient ADL
performance, and (3) carer coping abilities by Brief COPE
and perceived social support by Multidimensional Scale
of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Results: 49% of
patients are in moderate to severe stage, with moderate to
high ADL dependency level (mean ADL score: 62.4, with
40% of patients scoring 60 or below). On average carers
spent 13.8 hours per day on their relative. 24% of carers
have rated self-perceived health status as poor or very
poor. 36% have little or no knowledge about the dementia
illness. Regarding carer depression, 49% had CES-D score
in the moderately and severely depressed range. Caregiver burden was high with ZBI score of 38.2 (>24 being highly
associated with depression). Memory and behavioural
symptoms were common with mean RMBPC 38.2. Carer
coping abilities as measured by Brief COPE was 24.6.
Perceived social support as measured by MSPSS was
56.2. Carer depression was found to be correlated with
cognitive and behaviour problems as well as carer burden;
whereas it was negatively correlated with social support.
After multiple linear regression analysis, caregiver burden
was the most significant factor contributing to caregiver
depression (β=0.55, T=5.43, p<0.001). Conclusions: This
cohort of carers, having spent long hours caring for their
demented relatives had limited knowledge, poor perceived
health and emotional problems. They had high burden
and showed signs of depression. Caregiver depression
was found to be associated with a higher level of burden.published_or_final_versio
Emergence of Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in Nursing Homes With High Background Rates of MRSA Colonization
published_or_final_versio
Personalized Risk Assessment in Never, Light, and Heavy Smokers in a prospective cohort in Taiwan.
The objective of this study was to develop markedly improved risk prediction models for lung cancer using a prospective cohort of 395,875 participants in Taiwan. Discriminatory accuracy was measured by generation of receiver operator curves and estimation of area under the curve (AUC). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, age, gender, smoking pack-years, family history of lung cancer, personal cancer history, BMI, lung function test, and serum biomarkers such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), bilirubin, alpha fetoprotein (AFP), and c-reactive protein (CRP) were identified and included in an integrative risk prediction model. The AUC in overall population was 0.851 (95% CI = 0.840-0.862), with never smokers 0.806 (95% CI = 0.790-0.819), light smokers 0.847 (95% CI = 0.824-0.871), and heavy smokers 0.732 (95% CI = 0.708-0.752). By integrating risk factors such as family history of lung cancer, CEA and AFP for light smokers, and lung function test (Maximum Mid-Expiratory Flow, MMEF25-75%), AFP and CEA for never smokers, light and never smokers with cancer risks as high as those within heavy smokers could be identified. The risk model for heavy smokers can allow us to stratify heavy smokers into subgroups with distinct risks, which, if applied to low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening, may greatly reduce false positives
Effectiveness of a Technology-Based Injury Prevention Program for Enhancing Mothers’ Knowledge of Child Safety: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial
Protocolpublished_or_final_versio
Growth-differentiation factor-8 (GDF-8) in the uterus: its identification and functional significance in the golden hamster
Transforming growth factor-beta superfamily regulates many aspects of reproduction in the female. We identified a novel member of this family, growth-differentiation factor 8 (GDF-8) in the 72 h post coital uterine fluid of the golden hamster by proteomic techniques. Uterine GDF-8 mRNA decreased as pregnancy progressed while its active protein peaked at 72 h post coitus (hpc) and thereafter stayed at a lower level. At 72 hpc, the GDF-8 transcript was localized to the endometrial epithelium while its protein accumulated in the stroma. Exogenous GDF-8 slowed down proliferation of primary cultures of uterine smooth muscle cells (SMC) and endometrial epithelial cells (EEC). In addition, GDF-8 attenuated the release of LIF (leukaemia inhibiting factor) by EEC. As for the embryo in culture, GDF-8 promoted proliferation of the trophotoderm (TM) and hatching but discouraged attachment. Our study suggests that GDF-8 could regulate the behavior of preimplantation embryos and fine-tune the physiology of uterine environment during pregnancy
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