The results of laparoscopic adhesiolysis for intractable urinary frequency.

Purpose: We evaluated urinary frequency related to pelvic adhesions around the bladder serosa and the result of laparoscopic adhesiolysis on intractable urinary frequency caused by adhesions that did not respond to conservative treatment.

Materials And Methods: Laparoscopic adhesiolysis was performed for the diagnosis and treatment of 10 referred patients with a history of pelvic surgery in whom conservative treatment had failed. Urinary symptoms and signs, a urinary diary and cystometry were followed before and after surgery.

Predictive pulmonary function of school children in an area of low air pollution in Taiwan.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of different parameters on a predictive model of pulmonary function for elementary school children in an area of low air pollution in Taiwan. Healthy children aged 7 to 12 years from three elementary schools in low-air-pollution areas (Da-Chen, Mai-Liau and Tai-Si) participated in the study. A total of 836 children (423 boys and 413 girls) were included in the study.

Intravenous immunoglobulin in the treatment of full-term and premature newborns with sepsis.

Blood cultures were performed on 141 newborn infants who had clinical features or laboratory data indicative of sepsis between January 1993 and April 1995. Clinical features included respiratory deterioration, poor activity, abdominal distension and apnea. Abnormal laboratory data included leukocytosis, leukopenia, elevated C-reactive protein values or increased immature neutrophil counts.

Orientation landmarks of endoscopic transaxillary T-2 sympathectomy for palmar hyperhidrosis.

The identification of the T-2 ganglion through a narrow operative viewfield is the greatest challenge in performing endoscopic transaxillary T-2 sympathectomy, especially for a surgeon who is unfamiliar with the technique. The authors describe a simple anatomical method for identifying the T-2 ganglion during the operation, based on a study of 17 adult cadavers. First, a similar clinical procedure was performed along the anterior or middle axillary line via the second to fourth intercostal spaces to measure the aiming angles and intrathoracic depth needed.

Changing epidemiology of triplet pregnancy: etiology and outcome over twelve years.

Neonates of 34 triplet pregnancies were admitted to our neonatal unit over a twelve-year period (1983 to 1995), with an incidence of 1 out of 812 deliveries. Thirty (88%) of the pregnancies were the result of ovulation induction and artificial fertilization: artificial insemination from husband (n = 3), in vitro fertilization (n = 9), and gamete intra-fallopian transfer (n = 6). All except one had antenatal sonographic diagnosis, 79% in the first trimester.

Tracheal agenesis: report of one case.

In this report, we present a newborn male infant with tracheal agenesis. At birth the term baby was cyanotic, bradycardic, and had a failure to cry. His Apgar scores were 3 and 3 at 1 and 5 minutes after birth.

The morphologic structure of the openbite in adult Taiwanese.

Anterior openbite (AOB) is an intricate occlusal problem. Treatment of AOB is one of the most challenging tasks in orthodontics. An ethnic-specific norm for craniofacial skeletal patterns would be valuable in diagnosing and treating patients with AOB.

Recombinant human erythropoietin in the treatment of anemia of prematurity.

Seventy premature infants (birthweight 1.75 kg or less, gestational age 33 weeks or less) with hemoglobin less than 10 g/dL and hematocrit less than 30% were studied and randomly divided into three groups. All of them received oral elemental iron 3 mg/kg/day and vitamin E 5 mg/kg/day during the study period.

Hepatocellular carcinoma with metastasis to right atrium--a report of three cases.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common neoplasma in Taiwan. The tumor itself has the tendency of extension into the venous system, such as to the portal vein, hepatic vein and inferior vena cava (IVC), but intra-atrial metastasis is unusual. Antemortem diagnosis was difficult before the availability of two-dimensional echocardiography (2-DE).

Thyroid peroxidase autoantibodies and their effects on enzyme activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Thyroid microsomal antibodies (Ms-Ab) are recently proved to be directed to thyroid peroxidase (TPO). The aim of this study was to investigate whether the sera of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) contain anti-TPO antibodies (TPO-Ab) and whether these antibodies influence enzyme activity. Sera from patient with Hashimoto's thyroiditis was also studied.

Total body bone mineral content in small-for-gestational -age, appropriate-for-gestational -age, large-for-gestational -age term infants and appropriate-for-gestational -age preterm infants.

Background: Metabolic bone disease is a recognized complication in very low birth weight infants. Inadequate postnatal intake of calcium and phosphorus is probably important in the pathogenesis of bone disease in the newborn. A few studies have shown lower bone mineral content at birth in small for gestational age (SGA) than in appropriate for gestational age (AGA) infants.

Early meconium evacuation: effect on neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.

Delayed passage of meconium may increase enterohepatic circulation of bilirubin, which appears to be an important contributor to neonatal jaundice. To evaluate the effect of early meconium evacuation on neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, between January 1993 and December 1993, 265 healthy neonates were studied and randomly divided into two groups. Group 1 consisted of 130 neonates who received glycerin enema (1 mL of glycerin mixed with 1 mL of warmed normal saline) within 30 minutes after birth and the same procedure was repeated at 12 hours of age.

Fingertip reconstruction by the reverse digital artery island flap.

Background: Fingertip injuries remain as one of the most common injuries in the hand. The ideal reconstruction for such injuries is to provide abundant tissue with similar qualities, preserve the length, maintain joint motion and restore fingertip sensation. Although many reconstructive methods are described in the literature, many disadvantages can be associated with these procedures.

A dumbbell spinal lipoma presenting as a neck mass: CT and MR demonstration.

A case of histologically confirmed spinal lipoma without associated spinal dysraphism is presented. This tumor appeared lobulated, extending through an enlarged neuroforamen to form a so-called dumbbell tumor. In a review of the literature, there were found to be only four case reports of a dumbbell spinal lipoma.

Krukenberg tumor in pregnancy with delivery of a normal baby: a case report.

Successful termination of a pregnancy and delivery of a normal infant in a young woman with Krukenberg tumor is reported. This association has rarely been described previously. The persistent gastrointestinal symptoms mimicking the early nausea and vomiting of pregnancy mask the presentation of a tumor in the stomach.

Sclerotherapy on liver cirrhosis with esophageal variceal bleeding: eight years of experience.

Background: Patients with liver cirrhosis usually die of hepatic failure and variceal bleeding. Successful treatment of the latter can reduce mortality. Sclerotherapy is one method often used.

Diagnosis of interstitial pregnancy with sonography.

Interstitial pregnancy is a rare and extremely dangerous form of ectopic pregnancy. Preoperative diagnosis of this condition prior to rupture is difficult, and early detection is essential to avoid a fatal outcome. Six cases in our series were diagnosed as interstitial pregnancy.

Sclerotherapy for esophageal variceal bleeding in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: an 8-year experience in Taiwan.

Between August 1983 and December 1991 at the Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, 65 advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with esophageal variceal bleeding received endoscopic injection sclerotherapy (EIS) and 60 such patients received conservative medical treatment without EIS. The rate of successful control of acute bleeding was 72.5% (27/40 patients) in the EIS group and 56.

Thyroid function in healthy and sick neonates.

Background: Low serum thyroid hormone concentrations are frequently observed in critically ill patients. Low-birth-weight preterm infants have also been reported to contain lower serum thyroxine (T4) levels when compared with normal term infants. Investigating the differences of the thyroid function between sick and healthy term and preterm infants becomes a worthwhile task.

Neonatal candidiasis associated with meningitis and endophthalmitis.

From January 1991 to March 1993, a total of 11 infants with positive blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or stool cultures of Candida albicans were found in the nursery or neonatal intensive care unit of the Chung Shan Medical and Dental College Hospital. Clinical features including respiratory deterioration, poor activity, abdominal distension and/or apnea were noted. Indwelling peripheral venous catheters had been used in all patients to provide parenteral nutrition and broad spectrum antibiotic therapy and six infants had received intravenous fat emulsions.

Prediction of the development of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in ABO incompatibility.

Background: ABO incompatibility is now the most common cause of isoimmune hemolytic disease of the newborn here. Although hemolytic disease because of ABO incompatibility is clinically milder than that from Rh incompatibility, severe hemolysis occasionally occurs, and some cases require exchange transfusion. It is desirable to assess the accuracy of a group of tests to predict the development of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in ABO incompatibility.

Ethamsylate in the prevention of periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage in premature infants.

A random and controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ethamsylate in the prevention of periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (PIVH) in premature infants. Between January 1990 and July 1992, 171 premature infants with a birth weight of < 1,751 g who displayed no PIVH on initial cranial ultrasound scan, performed within an hour of delivery, were randomly divided into two groups. Group 1 consisted of 86 premature infants with a mean birth weight of 1.

The development of general practice in China.

The concepts and principles of general practice are consistent with Chinese cultural values; the leading authorities at the General Practice Training Centre are extremely enthusiastic about the general practice movement; the Ministry of Public Health is totally supportive of the general practice training; the medical/allied health professionals are eager to participate in general practice activities; and general practice certainly is responsive to public expectations. General practice will be flourishing and prosperous in China; however, there may be times when the specialty of general practice in China experiences growing pains with obstacles. The experiences gained from the development of general practice training programmes in Taiwan and other countries to handle the obstacles are of tremendous value to the development of general practice in China.

Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging in a nine-year-old boy.

An asymptomatic 9-year-old boy was found to have a cardiac murmur in a heart disease survey. Two-dimensional echocardiogram identified a large left ventricular pseudoaneurysm. Color flow imaging showed a transtunnel "to-and-fro" mosaic pattern between the pseudoaneurysm and left ventricle.

Chronic active myocarditis simulating constrictive pericarditis-like findings: report of a case.

A 34-year-old female with rhythm disturbance and characteristic hemodynamic features of constrictive pericarditis is presented. A left ventricular wall open needle biopsy revealed mild mononuclear cell infiltration suggestive of myocarditis. The patient died of intractable heart failure seven years later.