Attitude to Health ; Beauty ; Body Image ; Female ; Humans ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; psychology ; Self Concept

INTRODUCTIONAlthough cosmetic procedures have become increasingly popular among the younger population in recent years, limited research on this subject has been done in the Asian context. We aimed to explore the views and knowledge regarding cosmetic procedures among junior college (JC) and medical students in Singapore.

METHODSIn the first phase of the study, a cross-sectional, self-administered survey of 1,500 JC students aged 16-21 years from six JCs was conducted in 2010. The same survey was then conducted on a random sample of Year 2-5 medical students from an undergraduate medical school in 2011.

RESULTSIn total, 1,164 JC and 241 medical students responded to the surveys. There was an overall female to male ratio of 1.3:1. Of all the respondents, 2.5% of the JC students and 3.0% of the medical students admitted to having undergone cosmetic procedures. Among those who claimed to have never had cosmetic procedures done, 9.0% and 44.0% of the JC and medical students, respectively, responded that they would consider such procedures in the future. Those who disapproved of their peers undergoing cosmetic surgery comprised 35.0% of JC students and 56.8% of medical students. Among the JC and medical students, 52.0% and 36.1%, respectively, were unaware of any risks associated with cosmetic procedures.

CONCLUSIONThe younger population is increasingly accepting of cosmetic procedures. However, there is a general lack of understanding of the risks associated with such procedures. Education of both the general public and medical students may help prevent potential medicolegal issues.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Attitude to Health ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Singapore ; Students ; statistics & numerical data ; Students, Medical ; statistics & numerical data ; Surgery, Plastic ; utilization ; Universities ; Young Adult

Female ; Humans ; Male ; Students ; statistics & numerical data ; Students, Medical ; statistics & numerical data ; Surgery, Plastic ; utilization

AIM: To evaluate the cost of inpatient rehabilitation for children with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Secondary aim was to identify factors associated with high inpatient rehabilitation cost. METHOD: Retrospective review of a tertiary hospital's trauma registry was performed from 2011-2017. All patients aged 16 years or younger who sustained TBI with Glasgow Coma Scale ≤13 were included. Data on patient demographics, mechanism and severity of injury, hospital duration and inpatient rehabilitation cost were collected. We performed a regression analysis to identify factors associated with high rehabilitation cost. RESULTS: There were a total of 51 patients. The median duration of inpatient rehabilitation was 13.5 days (interquartile range [IQR] 4-35), amounting to a median cost of SGD8,361 (IQR 3,543-25,232). Daily ward costs contributed the most to total inpatient rehabilitation cost. Those with severe TBI had longer duration of inpatient rehabilitation that resulted in higher cost of inpatient rehabilitation. Presence of polytrauma, medical complications, post-traumatic amnesia and TBI post-non-accidental injury (NAI) were associated with higher cost of inpatient rehabilitation. CONCLUSION The cost of inpatient rehabilitation for paediatric patients post-TBI is significant in Singapore. Patients with TBI secondary to NAI had significantly higher cost of inpatient rehabilitation. Ways to reduce duration of hospitalisation post-TBI and early step-down care or outpatient rehabilitation should be explored to reduce cost.

ObjectiveTo introduction of perforator flaps,muscle flaps pedicled by descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery,method and their clinical application that multiple soft tissue defects of hand are repaire by muliplefoliated tissue flap only branch lateral circumflex femoral artery.MethodsFifteen patients with multiple soft tissue defects of hand were repaired muliplefoliated tissue flap only pedicled bydescending branch lateral circumflex femoral artery.At first,the anterolateral thigh perforator flap was designed and harvested according to the soft tissue defects of hand, then the descending branch lateral circumflex femoral artery was dissected at the same time the segmented perforator flap,fascia lata flap,rectus femoris muscle flap, vastus lateralis muscle flap, vastus intermedius muscle flap and distal spatium intermusculare flap were harvested in need according to distance among soft tissue defects.The muliplefoliated tissue flap was harvested only pedicled by descending branch lateral circumflex femoral artery, at last muscle flaps and fascia lata flaps were covered by skin graft, so the multiple soft tissue defects of hand were repaired in one time.ResultsNo vascular crisis happened. All skin grafts survived well, the contour of all repaired soft tissue defects was good and protective feeling was recovered by skin grafts of all flaps. All cases were got follow-up and the range was from 6 to 20 months(the average was 8.7 months).Wound of donor site healed well, muscle strength of quadriceps and motion of knee were normal. Three cases were excellent,nine cases were well and 3 cases were good, according to upper extremity function evaluation criteria of Chinese Medical Society for the Surgery of the Hand, the rate of good was 80 percent.ConclusionMultiple soft tissue defects of hand can be repaired by muliplefoliated flap only pedicled by descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery. Its advantages included reduction of operation time and treatment, good recovery of hand contour and function. It is a good method to repair multiple soft tissue defects of hand.

Objective To investigate the awareness rate,treatment rate and control rate of mineral and bone disorder in patients with moderate or advanced stage chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods The awareness rate,treatment rate and control rate of mineral and bone disorder were evaluated based on a questionnaire and related laboratory examinations in 503 CKD stage 3 to 5 patients. Results The awareness rate of mineral and bone disorder in patients with moderate or advanced stage CKD was highest in hemodialysis patients,moderate in peritoneal dialysis patients and lowest in non-dialyzed patients (all P ＜0.01).The total scores of the questionnaire were lowest in non-dialyzed patients [6 (5,8)] and were significantly higher in peritoneal dialysis [11 (9,12)] and hemodialysis patients [13 (11,15)] (P＜0.01).The extent of awareness was negatively correlated with age (r=-0.11,P＜0.05),and positively correlated with educational background (r=0.226,P＜0.01),duration of CKD (r=0.597,P＜0.01) and duration of dialysis (r=0.366,P＜0.01).The source of knowledge was mainly from publicity and education made by medical staff,which accounted for 94.0％,79.5％ and 69.4％ respectively in nondialyzed,peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis patients.The treatment rate was significantly higher in peritoneal dialysis (88.6％) and hemodialysis patients (96.9％) than that in non-dialyzed patients (58.2％) (all P＜0.01).According to K/DOQI guideline,the control rate of serum calcium,phosphorus,calcium and phosphorus product and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were much better in non-dialyzed patients as compared to dialyzed ones.The percentage of number of lab indicators meeting the standard was significantly higher in non-dialyzed patients as compared to dialyzed ones (P＜0.01).According to KDIGO guideline,the control rate of serum phosphorus was significantly lower in hemodialysis patients (23.6％) than that in peritoneal dialysis (36.9％) and non-dialyzed patients (46.7％) (P＜0.01). Conclusions In non-dialyzed patients with moderate or advanced stage CKD,the awareness rate and treatment rate of mineral and bone disorder are relatively low,and the control rate is relatively high.Whereas in dialyzed patients,the awareness rate and treatment rate are relatively high,and the control rate is relatively low.

INTRODUCTIONArterial base excess is an established marker of shock and predictor of survival in trauma patients. However, venous blood is more quickly and easily obtained. This study aimed to determine if venous base excess could replace arterial base excess as a marker in trauma patients at presentation and if venous base excess is predictive of survival at 24 hours and one week.

METHODSThis was a prospective study of 394 trauma patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary hospital over a 17-month period. Data on base excess at presentation, vital signs, shock index (SI), injury severity score (ISS), and mortality at 24 hours and one week was collected and analysed.

RESULTSArterial and venous blood gas tests were performed on 260 and 134 patients, respectively. Patients were stratified into groups based on their SI and ISS for analysis. There was no statistical difference between mean venous blood gas and arterial blood gas levels at presentation when SI > 0.7, regardless of ISS (p > 0.05). The mortality rate was 4.57%. Both venous and arterial base excess was lower in nonsurvivors compared to survivors (p < 0.05). However, at 24 hours and one week, the difference in base excess values at presentation between survivors and nonsurvivors was greater when using venous base excess compared to arterial base excess (11.53 vs. 4.28 and 11.41 vs. 2.66, respectively).

CONCLUSIONIn conclusion, venous base excess can replace arterial base excess in trauma patients as a means of identifying and prognosticating early shock.

Acid-Base Imbalance ; blood ; etiology ; mortality ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Arteries ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Blood Chemical Analysis ; Child ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Injury Severity Score ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prospective Studies ; Shock, Traumatic ; blood ; complications ; epidemiology ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Survival Rate ; trends ; Time Factors ; Trauma Centers ; Veins ; Wounds and Injuries ; blood ; complications ; diagnosis ; Young Adult

Introduction: Multitude studies have shown perception is an integral factor associated with smoking, However, no such tool was available in Malay language. In this study, we established a Bahasa Malaysia version of PTSQ (BM-PTSQ) and tested the validity and reliability among secondary school adolescents. Methods: The English version of PTSQ originally consists of 12 items. It was translated into Bahasa Malaysia and back-translated again into English to check for consistency. After face validity (face-to-face query) was determined among 20 secondary school adolescents, only 10 items were included in the survey. Construct validity was established from 407 school adolescents through random selection in the same locality. More than 60% of the respondents were female, a majority (67.3%) were schooling in rural areas. Then, the reliability of the questionnaire was determined with Cronbach's alpha. Results: EFA has grouped PTSQ into two components, they are associated with either knowledge or attitude towards smoking. The variance and Cronbach's alpha for the first and second component were 38.24% and 0.861 (7 items) and 21.62% and 0.661 (3 items) respectively. Conclusion The PTSQ showed good validity and reliability for measurement of perception in smoking among school adolescents in Malaysia, thus this is a viable measurement tool. More importantly this study shows an urgent need to improve the smoking education among adolescents in Malaysia.