BACKGROUNDThe Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has seen significant changes in its trauma service over the last ten years including the implementation of a regional trauma system. The author's institution is one of the five trauma centres designated in 2003. This article reports our initial clinical experience.

METHODSA prospective single-centre trauma registry from January 2004 to December 2008 was reviewed. The primary clinical outcome measure was hospital mortality. The Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) methodology was used for bench-marking with the North America Major Trauma Outcome Study (MTOS) database.

RESULTSThere were 1451 patients. The majority (83.9%) suffered from blunt injury. The overall mortality rate was 7.8%. Severe injury, defined as the Injury Severity Score > 15, occurred in 22.5% of patients, and was associated with a mortality rate of 31.6%. A trend of progressive improvement was noted. The M-statistic was 0.99, indicating comparable case-mix with the MTOS. The Z- and W-statistics of each individual year revealed fewer, but not significantly so, number of survivors than expected.

CONCLUSIONSTrauma centre designation was feasible in the HKSAR and was associated with a gradual improvement in patient care. Trauma system implementation may be considered in regions equipped with the necessary socio-economic and organizational set-up.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Hong Kong ; Humans ; Infant ; Injury Severity Score ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Trauma Centers ; statistics & numerical data ; Trauma Severity Indices ; Treatment Outcome ; Wounds and Injuries ; mortality ; pathology ; Young Adult

Background: Dutasteride improves hair growth compared with finasteride in male androgenic alopecia (AGA) and is well tolerated. However, real-world evidence for longterm dutasteride use in AGA is lacking. Objective: To describe baseline characteristics, treatment patterns and long-term safety and effectiveness of dutasteride versus finasteride. Methods: This was a multicentre, retrospective medical chart review study conducted in South Korea. The index date was the first prescription of dutasteride or finasteride. Baseline characteristics were assessed 6 months prior to index. Safety and effectiveness improvements in basic and specific [BASP] classification) data were collected from index throughout the observation period. Results: Overall, 600 male adult patients were included (dutasteride, n=295; finasteride, n=305). Dutasteride-treated patients were older (p<0.001) and more likely to have moderate/ severe BASP classification at baseline (p=0.010) compared with finasteride-treated patients. Among patients treated with recommended, on-label dosing exclusively (n=535: dutasteride, n=250; finasteride, n=285), dutasteride-treated patients showed greater improvement in hair growth than finasteride-treated patients, as measured by the BASP basic M classification (adjusted incidence rate ratio [95% confidence interval]: 2.06 [1.08, 3.95]; p=0.029). Among this same subset, overall occurrence of adverse events (AEs) during the observation period were not statistically equivalent between groups (dutasteride 7.6%, finasteride 10.5%; p=0.201), although reports of AEs of special interest were equivalent (p<0.001). Conclusion Dutasteride showed greater effectiveness than finasteride in improving BASP classification in treating male AGA and had a similar or possibly lower occurrence of overall AEs. Dutasteride may provide an effective and safe treatment option for male patients with AGA.