Effect of tear film stability on fluctuation of vision after photorefractive keratectomy.

Purpose: To evaluate the difference in tear film break-up between normal eyes and eyes after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and its impact on quality of vision in PRK eyes.

Methods: Seventy-seven normal eyes and 76 eyes with no ocular pathology except refractive error that had PRK were enrolled. Tear film break-up time was determined under slit-lamp microscopy with fluorescent staining.

The use of rectus abdominis sheath for wrapping of the hydroxyapatite orbital implants.

Because of the decreasing availability of whole eye donation, the source of banked sclera is becoming less available. We used autogenous Rectus abdominis sheath (RAS) as an alternative to banked sclera in wrapping the hydroxyapatite (HA)orbital implant. Five anophthalmic patients were included in this study from July 1994 to December 1997.

Role of autonomic tone in facilitating spontaneous onset of typical atrial flutter.

Objectives: This study sought to study the change in autonomic tone that precedes the initiation of paroxysmal atrial flutter.

Background: An abrupt change in the autonomic tone of the heart is an important initiating factor in the pathogenesis of ventricular tachyarrhythmias and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Whether the autonomic tone has a role in the initiation of paroxysmal atrial flutter has not been reported.

Tuberculous arthritis of sacroiliac joint with abscess formation: a case report.

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis at times appears to be an unusual presentation of the disease. Its incidence has not decreased, though a slow decline in pulmonary tuberculosis has been observed over the past decades around the world. The diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis is still rather difficult today.

The influence of incubator wall on the irradiation intensity of phototherapy.

A clear dose-response relationship has been demonstrated between the irradiance and the effectiveness of phototherapy. This study is designed to detect if there is any difference in irradiance between the inside and outside of different types of incubators. Forty-four incubators of two different types and with ages up to 18 years were included.

Continuous hyperthermic peritoneal perfusion for peritoneal carcinomatosis.

Continuous hyperthermic peritoneal perfusion (CHPP) with anticancer agents in warm saline was performed in 10 patients with cancer of the digestive tract and peritoneal carcinomatosis after resection of primary and metastatic lesions or both. Eight patients had colorectal cancer and one patient had recurring gastric cancer. CHPP was performed using saline containing mitomycin-C and 5-flurouracil at 42 degrees C to 43 degrees C for 60 minutes.

Prolonged fever in children.

During a four-year period, 86 children with fever lasting for at least 6 days without diagnosis at admission after initial physical examination and preliminary laboratory tests were included in a retrospective analysis. Their ages ranged from 2 months to 16 years, and there were 55 males and 31 females. Bacterial infections occurred in 19 patients (22%), viral infections in 17 (20%), mycoplasmal infections in 3 and malaria in 1.

Spontaneous tendon rupture in rheumatoid hand-successful reconstruction with tendon transfer: a case report.

Rheumatoid arthritis is not as common a problem in Taiwan as it is in western countries. Compared with traumatic tendon rupture, tendon rupture in rheumatoid arthritis has its complex and peculiar pathophysiological mechanism which includes chemical erosion by hypertrophic synovium and mechanical attrition by deformed joints and bony spurs. In management, all these pathological foci must be eradicated to prevent recurrent failure.

Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome with immature teratoma of the ovary at age 4 years.

We describe a rare combination of Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome and immature teratoma of the ovary in a 4-year-old girl. The patient was admitted due to increased abdominal size. Sonagraphy and C-T scan revealed a heterogeneous mass with cystic, calcified, and solid parts.

Ultrasonographic findings of papillary thyroid carcinoma and their relation to pathologic changes.

To elucidate the ultrasonographic findings in papillary thyroid carcinoma and their relation to pathologic changes, 47 patients on whom thyroid ultrasonography had been performed and whose thyroid tissues were pathologically proven to be papillary thyroid carcinoma were studied. The ultrasonographic findings were reviewed and correlated with the pathologic changes. Fifty-three out of 94 thyroid lobes had papillary carcinoma.

[Stevens-Johnson syndrome: a review of 42 cases].

We retrospectively studied 42 patients hospitalized for Stevens-Johnson syndrome at the Veterans General Hospital-Taipei between 1979 and 1991. Twenty-seven patients were males and 15 females; the ages ranged from 7 months to 82 years old with a mean age 50. The most common precipitating factor was drugs among which diphenylhydantion was the leading offender followed by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents and allopurinol.

Long-term results of esophageal transection and devascularization procedure in treatment of esophageal variceal bleeding.

Fifty-three patients with bleeding esophageal varices received a non-shunting operation--esophageal transection and devascularization of the proximal stomach with splenectomy--from March 1977 to October 1986. The ages of these patients ranged from 26 to 69 years with a mean of 49.70 +/- 10.

Complete transection of common bile duct due to blunt abdominal trauma: a case report and literature review.

A case of complete transection of the common bile duct due to abdominal blunt injury in a 49-year-old man is presented. The rarity of this injury and its initial presentation as a pancreatic pseudocyst warrant its description. This patient was diagnosed as having bile duct injury following ascites aspiration.

[Sudden death in childhood bronchial asthma: report of one case].

Sudden death from childhood bronchial asthma is very rare in Taiwan. This is a case report of an eight-year-old boy who had been a victim of bronchial asthma since age five. He attained school regularly.