Association of serum phosphorus concentration with mortality in elderly and nonelderly hemodialysis patients.

Objective: Hypo- and hyperphosphatemia have each been associated with increased mortality in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. There has not been previous evaluation of a differential relationship between serum phosphorus level and death risk across varying age groups in MHD patients.

Design And Settings: In a 6-year cohort of 107,817 MHD patients treated in a large dialysis organization, we examined the association between serum phosphorus levels with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality within 5 age categories (15 to <45, 45 to <65, 65 to <70, 70 to <75, and ≥75 years old) using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for case-mix covariates and malnutrition inflammation complex syndrome (MICS) surrogates.

Safety and immunogenicity of a 2009 influenza A (H1N1) vaccine in hemodialysis patients.

A worldwide vaccination campaign against the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus was launched among high-risk subjects, including hemodialysis patients. The long-term immunogenicity of an influenza vaccine has not been investigated in hemodialysis patients. This study aimed to (1) assess the long-term immunogenicity of a monovalent non-adjuvanted influenza A (H1N1) vaccine in hemodialysis patients and (2) determine the safety of this vaccine.

The impact of industrialization on road traffic accidents in Thailand.

Accompanying the socio-economic changes of Thailand in the past decade, road traffic accidents have become a leading cause of fatality. This study will identify the relationship between industrialization and the trend of fatalities from road traffic accidents. Observing per capita income and national industrial production, 1986 marked the beginning of the period of industrialization.

Exploring the discursive construction of menopause for Thai women.

The terms 'menopause' and 'mid-life women' have become the subjects of both the medical gaze and a billion-dollar industry built by pharmaceutical companies to manage the 'problems' of menopause. Menopause is a discursive construction, a label that has become endowed with a large number of taken-for-granted assumptions about physical and psychological symptoms, self-image and health status. These assumptions are based on the medical interests, social preoccupations, research and subsequent drug-marketing strategies conducted in western societies.

Relationship between dyspnea, peak expiratory flow rate and wheeze in obstructive lung disease.

The relationship between dyspnea and airway obstruction is complex, and it is unclear to what extent measures of each correlate in patients with obstructive lung disease (OLD). Thus, the correlation between subjective assessment of dyspnea (dyspnea score using modified Borg scale) and objective assessment of dyspnea (peak expiratory flow rate using Mini Wright Peak Flow Meter and wheeze score using stethoscope) before and after bronchodilator (1 mg of turbutaline sulphate) were studied in 115 patients (62 males, 53 females) with OLD attending the chest clinic of Royal Irrigation Hospital, Nonthaburi, Thailand. The mean age of these patients was 47.

Fatal varicella in a healthy girl.

A fatal case of chickenpox in a healthy 6-year-old girl is reported. She presented with hemorrhagic bullae from thrombocytopenia and then progressed rapidly to disseminated infection involving many systems causing myocarditis, pneumonitis and hepatitis. A peculiar blood picture with marked leukocytosis (leukemoid reaction) is revised and discussed.