The validity and applicability of the Chinese version of the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction With Assistive Technology for people with spinal cord injury.

The Quebec User Evaluation With Assistive Technology (Version 2.0; QUEST 2.0) has become an important outcome assessment to capture user satisfaction in the field of assistive technology.

Estimation of glomerular filtration rate in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

The objective of this study was to compare the limit of agreement of creatinine clearance (CrCl) estimated by different equations with the CrCl measured by 24-hour urine collection in Hong Kong Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Forty-three SLE patients with mild to moderate renal impairment (serum creatinine concentration >80 micromol/L to <300 micromol/L for females; and >106 micromol/L to <300 micromol/L for males) and not requiring renal replacement therapy were assessed. The estimated clearances were calculated by the Cockcroft-Gault (CG) equation, the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) study equation and the abbreviated MDRD (aMDRD) study equation.

The effectiveness of a stroke education group on persons with stroke and their caregivers.

The educational group has been proposed as an effective way to deliver a program based on structured stroke knowledge to enhance emotional support among people with stroke and their caregivers. The aim of this study was to explore whether the stroke educational group could increase stroke-related knowledge, and improve perceived health status, in persons with stroke and their caregivers, and thus reduce the stress induced during the care-giving process. In this study a quasi-experimental design, that included a pre-test and a post-test, was employed on a total of 54 patients with stroke and 32 caregivers who participated in a 2-week stroke educational group.

Disseminated cutaneous infection with Mycobacterium chelonae mimicking panniculitis in a patient with dermatomyositis.

We report a case of disseminated cutaneous Mycobacterium chelonae infection. A patient with dermatomyositis associated with malignancy presented with features of panniculitis. This was later confirmed to be cutaneous Mycobacterium chelonae infection.

Shoplifting in the mentally ill: the role of bipolar affective disorder and mental retardation.

This study explores shoplifting behaviour in mentally ill patients, and evaluates the association between shoplifting and different mental illnesses in a local Chinese population. A comparison is made between shoplifting offenders and a matched control group of non-offenders among the psychiatric patients registered at a university department of psychiatry. Major depression, bipolar affective disorder (BAD) and mental retardation (MR) are the most common diagnoses among mentally ill shoplifters, while patients with a diagnosis of BAD or MR are at higher risk of committing an offence than patients with other diagnoses.

Subjective memory complaints in Chinese subjects with mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) represents a transitional state between normal aging and dementia. However, there is inconsistent opinion as to the validity of subjective memory complaints as a criterion for diagnosis.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the potential significance of applying a short memory questionnaire in the assessment of Chinese subjects with MCI and early dementia.

Rehabilitation outcomes following traumatic spinal cord injury in a tertiary spinal cord injury centre: a comparison with an international standard.

Study Design: Retrospective descriptive analysis of data of patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in a tertiary SCI centre.

Objectives: To identify the characteristics of the rehabilitation outcomes of patients with different levels of traumatic SCI and to compare the results with data reported in the American Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine.

Setting: A newly established tertiary SCI centre in Tai Po Hospital, Tai Po, Hong Kong.

Temporal lobe atrophy on MRI in Parkinson disease with dementia: a comparison with Alzheimer disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.

Objective: To investigate the extent of medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) on MRI in Parkinson disease (PD) with and without dementia compared with Alzheimer disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and to determine whether MTA correlates with cognitive impairment in PD and PD dementia (PDD).

Methods: Coronal T1-weighted MRI scans were acquired from control subjects (n = 39) and patients with PD (n = 33), PDD (n = 31), DLB (n = 25), and AD (n = 31), diagnosed according to standardized clinical diagnostic criteria. Cognitive function was assessed using the Cambridge Cognitive Examination (CAMCOG), and MTA was rated visually using a standardized (Scheltens) scale.

A prevalence study of antenatal depression among Chinese women.

Background: There has thus far been no empirical research on the occurrence of antenatal psychiatric morbidity in Chinese population. Epidemiological studies in western societies generally show that depressive episodes occur in 10-20% of pregnant women. Longitudinal studies have demonstrated that antenatal depression is one of the most powerful predictors of postnatal depression.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and engagement in occupation.

The goal of this study was to gain an understanding of participants' experiences with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and their perceptions of an occupational therapy intervention as it related to occupational behaviors. The researcher conducted semistructured interviews with three participants recruited from a pulmonary rehabilitation program in Hong Kong. Using thematic analysis, five themes related to the disease experience were identified: (1) uncertainty during the course of the disease, (2) external attribution, (3) activity restriction and isolation, (4) anxiety and depression, and (5) passive fortitude.

The effects of guided imagery relaxation in people with COPD.

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of guided imagery relaxation in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using a randomized controlled design. Half of 26 participants were allocated to the treatment group in which six practice sessions on guided imagery were conducted, while the control group was instructed to take rest quietly during the six sessions. At the seventh session, physiological changes: partial percentage of oxygen saturation; heart rate; upper thoracic surface electromyography; skin conductance; and peripheral skin temperature were recorded during a 30-minute session with a sampling frequency of one minute.

The intermediate-term outcome of Chinese patients with anorexia nervosa in Hong Kong.

Objective: The authors determined the intermediate-term outcome of anorexia nervosa for Chinese patients in Hong Kong.

Method: A consecutive series of 88 patients who fulfilled DSM-III-R criteria for typical (i.e.

Classification of hand splinting.

The terminology in describing splint or orthosis has been reviewed but there is no one single system adopted universally. Joint efforts by doctors, therapists and orthotists had been set up to review the classification of splint. Four ways of classifying hand splints have been introduced: namely, eponym, acronym, descriptive classification system and the classification system proposed by the American Society of Hand Therapists.

Validity and applicability of the Chinese version of community screening instrument for dementia.

The development of an educationally independent screening instrument for dementia is most valuable for epidemiological studies. The Community Screening Instrument for Dementia (CSI-D) was applied to 120 subjects, with 30 matched for age in each of the four groups of mild to moderately demented, depressed, low-education and high-education normal control subjects. The internal consistency and interrater reliability of CSI-D were satisfactory.

Case report: a work simulation program for a manual worker with a fracture injury.

Work rehabilitation programs targeting different client groups are available in nearly all major hospital occupational therapy departments in Hong Kong. Clients receiving work rehabilitation are referred from various out-patient clinics and other occupational therapists. Those clients experience limitation in work after their injuries or diseases and plan to return to work after rehabilitation.

Deficient dietary vitamin K intake among elderly nursing home residents in Hong Kong.

There is strong evidence supporting the importance of vitamin K in bone health and the aetiological role of vitamin K deficiency in osteoporosis. In view of the common occurrence of osteoporosis among older subjects in Hong Kong, we have studied the dietary vitamin K intakes in 100 residents of a nursing home (43 men, 57 women; median age 81.0 years) and 88 free-living subjects attending a day care centre (13 men, 75 women; median age 71.