Assessment of occupational exposure to airborne chlorine dioxide of healthcare workers using impregnated wipes during high-level disinfection of non-lumened flexible nasoendoscopes.

Routine flexible nasoendoscopy in otolaryngology clinics is well established, the rate-limiting step of which being the speed of the nasoendoscopes reprocessing method used. Non-lumened flexible nasoendoscopes are expensive, heat-sensitive, delicate instruments that cannot be sterilized in an autoclave but must be disinfected by means of high level disinfection (HLD). In one of the public hospitals in Singapore, the method of disinfection was recently changed to the use of commercial impregnated wipes which generates less than 1% chlorine dioxide upon activation.

Epidemiology of hand infection--a comparative study between year 2000 and 2009.

This study aims to analyze the bacteriology and antibiotic resistance in hand infection between 2000 and 2009 at a local hospital in Asia. It is a retrospective study involving all adult patients with hand infections that were treated surgically, with tissue or wound culture sent. A total of 100 cases in 2000 and 98 cases in 2009 were included in this study.

Outcomes of open carpal tunnel releases and its predictors: a prospective study.

A prospective study of 74 patients who underwent open carpal tunnel releases was conducted, with a follow-up period of six months. We analyzed multiple preoperative variables in order to identify factors that might predict outcomes. These outcomes included improvement in symptom severity and functional severity scores, grip strength as well as patient satisfaction.

Pincer nails complicated by distal phalangeal osteomyelitis.

Besides the known cosmetic implications, pincer nails are often complicated by pain, chronic inflammation and recurrent suppurative infections. We report two such cases of chronic paronychia of the thumb secondary to pincer nails. Both were complicated by osteomyelitis.

Factors affecting the prognosis of pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis.

Background: Pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis is a closed space infection involving the digital flexor tendon sheaths of the upper extremity that can cause considerable morbidity. The purpose of the present report is to describe the various risk factors leading to poor outcomes and to recommend a clinical classification system for this condition.

Methods: We studied seventy-five patients with pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis over a six-year period.

Mycobacterium marinum as a cause of chronic granulomatous tenosynovitis in the hand.

Objective: Mycobacterium marinum is an uncommon cause of chronic granulomatous flexor tenosynovitis and leads to significant morbidity in the hand. This paper aims to review our treatment of this infection and its clinical outcomes.

Methods: We treated five cases of M.