Pertussis is mainly thought to be a disease affecting young children, but it can also affect adults and the elderly. While vaccination has largely reduced the incidence of pertussis compared to the pre-vaccine era, there has been an upswing in the incidence, and outbreaks continue to occur.

Pricking and cutting treatment with spike-hooked needles often has an immediate effect on diseases with fixed pain points. This article, from anatomic position, point checking method, therapeutic procedures and clinical application, presents the clinical experience of spike-hooked needle cutting the medial border of scapula and shows that spike-hooked needle cutting scapular spine margin can not only treat meridian sinew diseases but also has a marked therapeutic effect on many craniofacial and visceral diseases.

The incidence of hip fractures is increasing within the aging population.We determined the risk factors of in-hospital mortality following hip fracture across major hospitals in Malaysia. This is a retrospective cohort review from 18 hospitals across Malaysia in National Orthopaedic Registry of Malaysia (NORM) . We collected demographic data, pre-fracture co-morbidities, previous hip fracture, pre-fracture walking ability, fracture type and stability, mechanism of injury, type of management (operative or non-operative), operation types and grade of surgeon. Between 2008 and 2009, 685 patients were admitted with a hip fracture to 18 government hospitals with orthopaedic service. The overall in-hospital mortality was 2.2%. We found more in-hospital mortality in elderly patients and patients with eye and hearing problems as pre-fracture morbidity. In conclusion, patients who were elderly with multiple co-morbidities especially those with eye and hearing impairment were had higher risk for immediate mortality.

Humans ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Research Design ; Sample Size ; Software

Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of heel pain in adults. Although it is usually a self-limiting condition, the pain may become prolonged and severe enough to cause significant distress and disruption to the patient's daily activities and work. PubMed and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases were searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and a total of ten RCTs were selected for evaluation. These RCTs involved the use of either palpation- or ultrasonography-guided corticosteroid injections in patients diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. All placebo-controlled RCTs showed a significant reduction in pain with the use of corticosteroid injections. Some studies also showed that corticosteroid injections yielded better results than other treatment modalities. However, it is evident from these studies that the effects of corticosteroid injections are usually short-term, lasting 4-12 weeks in duration. Complications such as plantar fascia rupture are uncommon, but physicians need to weigh the treatment benefits against such risks.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Adult ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Fasciitis, Plantar ; drug therapy ; Heel ; injuries ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pain ; drug therapy ; Pain Measurement ; Palpation ; Patient Satisfaction ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Rupture ; Treatment Outcome ; Ultrasonography

Optical positioning system has a wide range of application in many fields. This paper presents an optical positioning method which combines linear and plane cameras. 1-D image signal of linear camera is used to get 1-D coordinates of the targets, which can be processed quickly. We can use it to assist processing the 2-D image signals of plane camera under some constraints. Linear camera can reduce the amount of position searching and calculation in coordinates extracting of targets in 2D image, and it can also help identify multiple targets. The results showed that our method could reach an accuracy of 1.608 mm, which was about one thousandth of the measurable range, and the reconstruction time for 4 targets without geometric constraints is 23.87 ms, namely 41.9 fps.
Equipment Design ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; instrumentation ; Optical Devices

Osteoporosis-related fractures are increasing at a rapid rate, especially in Asia due to the ageing population. This would result in increased morbidity and mortality of the seniors as well as creating a strain on the healthcare system. Efforts should be made to prevent osteoporosis, screen for osteoporosis early and timely treatment to reduce the risk of fractures. As falls are a major risk factor for fracture in osteoporotic patients, management of osteoporosis should include efforts to reduce falls. Using a population-wide strategy for women 65 years old couple with high-risk population screening using a combination of tools such as FRAX® and OSTA as well as clinical risk factors for women below 65 years old can detect osteoporosis early for intervention. Treatment options for osteoporosis include bisphosphonates, denosumab, teriparatide, raloxifene, menopausal hormone therapy and tibolone. Drug choices should be individualised to the patient, balancing the risk/benefit ratio.

Bleb-related infective endophthalmitis is an uncommon but serious complication more commonly associated with glaucoma-filtering surgery. However, blebs can also result from other intraocular surgery, including extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) surgery. This report illustrates a case of infective endophthalmitis from an extracapsular cataract extraction bleb. Immediate treatment with intravitreal antibiotics is essential, but may still result in a poor visual outcome.

Introduction: Fusarium spp is an opportunistic fungal pathogen which is being isolated with increasing frequency as a pathogen in oncohematologic patients who are immunocompromised, particularly those who are neutropenic. Case summary: We herein report a case of a 21 year-old old lady with refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia on chemotherapy who presented to us with multiple erythematous plaques with central necrosis for past 10 days involving the bilateral upper limb and lower limb. Diagnosis of disseminated fusariosis was made by positive blood cultures and skin biopsy for fungal culture to Fusarium spp. She was treated with intravenous voriconazole for one month. The patient was in complete remission with no signs of clinical activity of the Fusarium infection. Conclusion: There is a need to exclude the other causes of cutaneous plaques occurring in leukaemic patients.

Objective To investigate the clinical implications of early rehabilitative treatment for uncomplete dislocation of shoulder after stroke.Method 420 patients received the anti－ spasticity treatment of upper limb,protecting techniques and sling were also used for all patients.Result The recovery of uncomplete dislocation of shoulder after stroke was satisfying.Conclusion Early rehabilitative treatment was beneficial for the improvement of uncomplete dislocation of shoulder after stroke.