scholarly journals Lightning Injury: Changi Hospital Experience

2003 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 223-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
HH Tan ◽  
SH Goh

Introduction Lightning injury is a major concern in Singapore, which has one of the highest incidences of lightning activity in the world. This study examined the frequency and type of lightning injuries that presented to an Accident and Emergency (A&E) department situated in the east of Singapore to identify the groups at risk and the spectrum of injuries sustained. Materials and methods This is a case series study with a sample size of 24. Cases that were seen in the A&E department of Changi General Hospital from July 1997 to June 2002 with the International Classification of Disease diagnosis code of E907 for lightning injury were collected and analyzed. Results In our study, 83% lightning injuries were work-related and 79% occurred in those below 40 years old. In the work-related category, a significant proportion occurred at the airport (45%) with most of the incidents occurring while working near or in contact with the aircraft (7 out of 9). The other major proportion occurred at construction sites (40%) with a significant number of cases occurring while in contact with cranes (6 out of 8). There was one telephone-related injury. In the non-work related incidents, two out of four occurred while playing golf. Most of the injuries (87.5%) were minor with no long-term morbidity. There was one death and one critical case requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The latter survived and recovered quite remarkably. One patient had serious depression requiring prolonged treatment. Conclusion Precaution should be taken during lightning-prone weather conditions in workplaces that involve large metal structures like cranes and aircrafts and in open space. This also applies to recreational sports like golf. Lightning injury, though rare, is not uncommon and emergency room doctors should be conversant with the treatment of this condition and its complications. Immediate basic and advanced cardiac life support administered to a lightning casualty who collapsed can be life saving.

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Velázquez ◽  
F. Cavas ◽  
J. Alió del Barrio ◽  
D. G. Fernández-Pacheco ◽  
J. Alió

Assessing changes suffered by the cornea as keratoconus progresses has proven to be vital for this disease diagnosis and treatment. This study determines the corneal biometric profile in eyes considered as affected by keratoconus (KC) showing severe visual limitation, by means of in vivo 3D modelling techniques. This observational case series study evaluated new objective indices in 50 healthy and 30 KC corneas, following a validated protocol created by our research group, which has been previously used for diagnosis and characterization of KC in asymptomatic (preclinical) and mild visually impaired eyes. Results show a statistically significant reduction of corneal volume and an increase of total corneal area in the severe KC group, being anterior and posterior corneal surfaces minimum thickness points the best correlated parameters, although with no discrimination between groups. Receiving operator curves were used to determine sensitivity and specificity of selected indices, being anterior and posterior apex deviations the ones which reached the highest area under the curve, both with very high sensitivity (96.7% and 90%, respectively) and specificity (94.0% and 99.9%, respectively). The results suggest that once severe visual loss appears, anterior corneal topography should be considered for a more accurate diagnosis of clinical KC, being anterior apex deviation the key metric discriminant. This study can be a useful tool for KC classification, helping doctors in diagnosing severe cases of the disease, and can help to characterize corneal changes that appear when severe KC is developed and how they relate with vision deterioration.


2015 ◽  
Vol 130 (S1) ◽  
pp. S11-S15 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Sparrow ◽  
L Sanchez ◽  
D Turner ◽  
P MacFarlane ◽  
A S Carney

AbstractObjective:To determine whether the use of tissue spears to remove otorrhoea from Aboriginal children's ear canals improves hearing in the affected ear.Design:Case series study with controls.Methods:The study comprised 61 Aboriginal children from communities in the remote arid zone of South Australia who had otorrhoea obscuring the tympanic membrane in 1 or both ears. Eighty ears were treated with tissue spears, and hearing was assessed before and after treatment.Results:Forty-two children had unilateral and 19 had bilateral active disease. An additional 13 ears without otorrhoea served as controls. Improvement by 5 dB HL or greater in a four-frequency pure tone average occurred in 41.3 per cent of treated ears. Subsequently, blinded audiologists made qualitative judgements that a functional improvement in hearing had occurred after tissue spear use in 28.4 per cent of ears.Conclusion:Tissue spears can improve hearing thresholds in a significant proportion of children with otorrhoea. However, the duration of the effect is unknown.


Author(s):  
Ioannis Papasavvas ◽  
Piergiorgio Neri ◽  
Alessandro Mantovani ◽  
Carl P. Herbort

Abstract Background and purpose Idiopathic multifocal choroiditis (MFC) is part of the group of choriocapillaritis entities. The clinical definition of the disease has evolved with time. The aim of this article was to undertake a review on MFC, on its present-day appraisal and nomenclature and we also report a series of patients with emphasis on the clinical presentation and the importance of vigorous immunosuppressive management. Methods A review of the literature and a retrospective case series study which was performed in the Centre for Ophthalmic Specialised care (COS), Lausanne, Switzerland. Patients diagnosed from 1994 to 2020 with idiopathic multifocal choroiditis (MFC) treated with multiple immunosuppressants were included. Exclusion criteria were insufficient follow up and cases not treated with vigorous immunosuppressive therapy. Imaging analysis included spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) / enhanced depth imaging OCT (EDI-OCT), OCT angiography (OCT-A). Fluorescein and Indocyanine angiography (FA, ICGA) before and after the instauration of treatment. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), routine ocular examination, laser flare photometry (LFP) were performed at presentation and follow-up. Immunosuppression comprised at minimum two among the following agents: prednisone, cyclosporine, azathioprine, mycophenolic acid or infliximab. Mean duration of therapy was calculated. Results 26 (52 eyes) of 2102 new patients (1.24%) were diagnosed with MFC. 25 (96%) patients were female and 1 (4%) was male. 43/52 (82%) eyes were myopic with a mean dioptre of − 5.87 ± 2.94, six (12%) eyes were hypermetropic with mean dioptres 2.0 ± 2.68 and three (6%) were emmetropic. 14/52 (27%) eyes had at least 1 anti-VEGF injection because of choroidal neovascularisation (CNVs), 1 eye had a phototherapy laser and 37/52 (71%) had no complication of CNVs during the follow-up. 5/26 (19%) fulfilled the inclusion criteria for our study. Mean age was 26.4 ± 9.3 years. Snellen best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at presentation was 0.955+/-0.26. Mean follow up was 84+/-55 months. LFP at presentation was 6.34 ± 2.94 ph/ms. None of four patients with prolonged treatment and prolonged follow-up showed disease activity. One patient still under therapy after 4 months’ follow-up still showed an active neovascular membrane. Conclusion Treatment with multiple immunosuppressive agents was shown to stop the progression of the disease.


1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (02) ◽  
pp. 85-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne R. Cockshutt ◽  
H. Dobson ◽  
C. W. Miller ◽  
D. L. Holmberg ◽  
Connie L. Taves ◽  
...  

SummaryA retrospective case series study was done to determine the long-term outcome of operations upon dogs treated for canine hip dysplasia by means of a triple pelvic osteotomy (TPO). Twentyfour dogs with bilateral hip dysplasia, that received a unilateral TPO between January 1988 and June 1995, were re-examined at the Ontario Veterinary College. The assessment included physical, orthopedic and lameness examinations, standard blood work, pelvic radiographs and force plate gait analysis. They were compared to bilaterally dysplastic dogs that had not been treated, and also to normal dogs. Force plate data analysis demonstrated a significant increase in peak vertical force (PVF) and mean vertical force over stance (MVF) in the limb that underwent surgical correction by means of a TPO, when compared to the unoperated hip. It was determined that performing a unilateral TPO on a young dysplastic dog resulted in greater forces and weight bearing being projected through the TPO corrected limb when compared to the unoperated limb.Dogs with bilateral hip dysplasia treated with a unilateral triple pelvic osteotomy (TPO) were assessed by force plate gait analysis, radiographs and orthopedic examination. There was a significant increase in hip Norberg angles over time, although degenerative changes did progress. Limbs that had been operated upon had significantly greater peak and mean ground reaction forces than limbs that had not received an operation.


Author(s):  
Jae Ik Lee ◽  
Mohd Shahrul Azuan Jaffar ◽  
Han Gyeol Choi ◽  
Tae Woo Kim ◽  
Yong Seuk Lee

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of isolated medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction, regardless of the presence of predisposing factors. A total of 21 knees that underwent isolated MPFL reconstruction from March 2014 to August 2017 were included in this retrospective series. Radiographs of the series of the knee at flexion angles of 20, 40, and 60 degrees were acquired. The patellar position was evaluated using the patellar tilt angle, sulcus angle, congruence angle (CA), and Caton-Deschamps and Blackburne-Peel ratios. To evaluate the clinical outcome, the preoperative and postoperative International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) and Lysholm knee scoring scales were analyzed. To evaluate the postoperative outcomes based on the predisposing factors, the results were separately analyzed for each group. Regarding radiologic outcomes, 20-degree CA was significantly reduced from 10.37 ± 5.96° preoperatively to −0.94 ± 4.11° postoperatively (p = 0.001). In addition, regardless of the predisposing factors, delta values of pre- and postoperation of 20-degree CA were not significantly different in both groups. The IKDC score improved from 53.71 (range: 18–74) preoperatively to 94.71 (range: 86–100) at the last follow-up (p = 0.004), and the Lysholm score improved from 54.28 (range: 10–81) preoperatively to 94.14 (range: 86–100) at the last follow-up (p = 0.010). Isolated MPFL reconstruction provides a safe and effective treatment for patellofemoral instability, even in the presence of mild predisposing factors, such as trochlear dysplasia, increased patella height, increased TT–TG distance, or valgus alignment. This is a Level 4, case series study.


Author(s):  
Amir Moeintaghavi ◽  
Negar Azami ◽  
Mohammad Sadegh Zohrevand ◽  
Farid Shiezadeh ◽  
Hamid Jafarzadeh ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-266
Author(s):  
Jorge Luis Alfredo Herrera Ariza ◽  
Mario Alejandro Villabón ◽  
Ángela Carolina Rojas Ruiz ◽  
Iván Fernando Moncada

Objetivo: Determinar los agentes microbianos más frecuentes en pacientes de UCI con diagnóstico de sinusitis nosocomial en el Hospital de San José, período de dos años. Diseño: Estudio observacional tipo serie de casos. Materiales y métodos: Se incluyeron pacientes mayores de 18 años con una estancia hospitalaria mayor a 48 horas, que desarrollaron sinusitis nosocomial de acuerdo a los criterios de los Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Uso de dos técnicas: punción y lavado de seno maxilar. Resultados: 19 pacientes que cumplen los criterios de sinusitis nosocomial. Edad promedio 55 años, predominio sexo masculino. El 94.7% tuvo sonda orogástrica, 89.5% intubación orotraqueal y 89.5% ventilación mecánica. Hubo aislamiento polimicrobiano de gram positivos, gram negativos, anaerobios y hongos. La mortalidad en UCI fue 32%. Conclusiones: Se presenta una adecuada sensibilidad al tratamiento con vancomicina y piperacilina tazobactam en esta patología. El rendimiento diagnóstico es igual al realizar lavado y punción del seno maxilar.Objetive: To determine the microbial agents on UCI patients who have beendiagnosed with nosocomial sinusitis at the San Jose Hospital, (Bogota, Colombia) in a two-year period. Design: Case series study. Materials and methods: Patients who were older than 18-year olds, with a hospitalization longer than 48 hours who developed nosocomial sinusitis, according to the criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) were included. Two techniques were employed for data collection: puncture and maxillary sinus wash. Results: 19 patients fulfill the criteria requirements for nosocomial sinusitis. Average age was 55 years old. Population mostly was composed by male individuals. 94.7% had a gastric tube intervention; 89.5% had tracheal intubation 89.5% mechanical ventilation. Polymicrobial isolation with gram positive, gram negative, anaerobic and fungi were identified. Mortality in critical care unites was 32%. Conclusions: An adequate sensitivity to treatment with vancomycin and piperacillin tazobactam was evidenced in this pathology.To perform a washing or maxillary sinus puncture had the same efficiency fordiagnosing this disease.


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