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Biomedical subjects

C M Fong

Publications and source records attributed to C M Fong.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

A case report of a patient with bronchial carcinoid tumour and late presentation of Cushing's syndrome.

Bronchial carcinoid tumour with ectopic adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) production is an uncommon cause of Cushing's syndrome. In most instances, the patient presents with clinical hyperglucocorticolism and a search for its underlying pathology leads to the discovery of an inconspicuous bronchial carcinoid tumour, if at all. Often the tumour is not immediately detectable. We report a patient who presented in the reverse order--she initially had a large asymptomatic bronchial carcinoid tumour that subsequently manifested as clinical Cushing's syndrome after remaining quiescent for four years.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone

Gastrointestinal lymphoma--a review of 54 patients in Singapore.

Primary gastrointestinal (GI) lymphoma accounts for 2% to 5% of all GI malignancies. Primary therapy in uncomplicated GI lymphoma remains controversial. Fifty-four patients (male to female ratio of 4:3, median age 56 years) with GI lymphoma were studied to evaluate complications and results of therapy. The sites involved were the stomach (31), small bowel (12), large bowel (4), gallbladder (1) and multifocal (6). Distribution by stage and grade (Working Formulation or Kiel) were: IE-30%, IIE-43%, IIIE-6%, IV-20% and unknown-1%; low grade-33%, intermediate grade-59% and high grade-8%. Majority (54%) had diffuse large cell lymphoma. Twenty-three patients (43%) underwent primary resection of the tumour followed by chemotherapy in 14 or radiotherapy in 3. Seventeen patients (31%) had primary chemotherapy and 3 (6%) had primary radiotherapy. Of the 48 patients who underwent therapy, 52% had complete response. At the last follow-up (median 21 months), 25 patients were disease-free. Overall survival was 67% at two years. Treatment strategies employing surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, alone or in combination, do not appear to influence outcome. Surgical resection plus chemotherapy appear to be effective in the control of local and distant disease.

Adolescent

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in an Asian population: 1968-1992 time trends and ethnic differences in Singapore.

BACKGROUND: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has increased in incidence in many countries, particularly in the West. Advances in diagnostic methods and the understanding of the disease over time pose a challenge to the interpretation of these trends. The aim of this study was to determine if the disease has increased in Singapore, a newly industrialized Asian country, and to examine the possible factors that may account for any observed changes. METHODS: Data from the population-based Singapore Cancer Registry for the period 1968 to 1992 were reviewed to determine time trends based on sex and ethnic group. The Poisson regression model was fitted to the cross-tabulated data to obtain the adjusted incidence density ratios. RESULTS: A total of 1988 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were included in the analysis. There was an overall increase in incidence among both Chinese and Malaysians. However, the rate of increase was greater in females (age-standardized rate from 1.8 per 100,000 in 1968-1972 to 4.5 per 100,000 in 1988-1992) than in males (3.2 per 100,000 to 5.9 per 100,000 in the same time periods). Between ethnic groups, Malay females were at higher overall risk compared with their Chinese counterparts (incidence density ratio 1.32; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.61). Although a substantial proportion of patients diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease between 1968 and 1972 were reclassified on review, using present criteria, as having non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, it is unlikely that this, and other recent changes in histologic interpretation, could have accounted for an increase of this magnitude. CONCLUSIONS: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has increased in incidence among the Chinese and Malay populations in Singapore. The pattern of increase differs from that of the common cancer sites, and suggests the need to look for environmental and genetic factors that have not yet been elucidated.

China

A longitudinal study of the relationships between overload, social support, and burnout among nursing educators.

The major purpose of this study was to examine the causal relationships between role overload, social support, and burnout among nursing educators over a period of time. Eighty-four nursing educators from eight campuses of a state university system completed a questionnaire twice, within a two-year interval. Data analyses consistently revealed the following: 1) Emotional exhaustion correlated significantly and positively with a demanding job, time pressure, and feelings of job inadequacy; 2) Burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization of students, and a sense of decreased accomplishment) correlated significantly and negatively with social support from one's chairperson and peers. Predictor variables from the initial data set were regressed on the burnout data of two years later. The variable--job demands--was the strongest predictor of emotional exhaustion. Chairperson support was the strongest predictor of both depersonalization toward students and a person's sense of accomplishment two years later. The reported chronic exhaustion among educators in this study should be of concern. An awareness of the role of social support and overload as associated with burnout can help educators develop policies to assure peak performance on the job.

Achievement

Case report of primary orbital hemangiopericytoma.

This is a case report on a 33-year-old man who had a right orbital tumour which was thought to be a cavernous hemangioma clinically and at the time of surgery. This tumour was shown to be hemangiopericytoma of borderline grade on histological study. The purpose of this paper is to present this rare orbital tumour, especially amongst Asians, which may seem benign at presentation. A review of the literature is done with emphasis on its malignant potential and the recommended mode of treatment.

Adult

The use of fine needle aspiration biopsy in patients with multiple lymphadenopathy before open biopsy.

When a clinician is faced with a patient who presents with lymphadenopathy and in whom the clinical examination and routine investigations are normal, excision biopsy is usually the next step of management to obtain a tissue diagnosis. In a patient who has multiple lymphadenopathy, deciding on which node to biopsy can be difficult because some of the enlarged nodes may not reflect the true disease process. When such a lymph node is biopsied, the actual diagnosis can be delayed or even missed. Fine needle aspiration biopsy has been shown to be an effective tool in the investigation of multiple lymphadenopathy. Many, if not all, of the enlarged lymph nodes can be sampled at one sitting. If this procedure fails to provide a definitive diagnosis, the clinician should then proceed on to an open biopsy. Two cases of multiple lymphadenopathy in which open biopsies failed to reveal the true nature of the disease but subsequent fine needle aspiration biopsies did are presented and discussed.

Adult

Role overload, social support, and burnout among nursing educators.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between role overload, social support, and burnout among nursing educators. Ninety percent (N = 141) of nursing educators from eight campuses of the California State University system completed a four-part questionnaire. Later, in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 nursing educators and five chairpersons. The findings indicated that a demanding job correlated, significantly and positively with almost all aspects of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization of students, and decreased sense of accomplishment). The degree of support from one's chairperson and peers correlated significantly and negatively with almost all aspects of burnout. The findings from the interviews verified these relationships. In the hierarchical regression analyses, a demanding job was the most important predictor of emotional exhaustion. Lack of peer support was the most important predictor of depersonalization towards students. Chairperson support was the most important predictor of a person's sense of accomplishment. Social support did not serve as a buffer against the negative effects of overload on burnout. It was concluded that attempts to alleviate burnout must directly address the extent of overload or the lack of support. Any attempt to mitigate the overload-burnout relationship by merely amplifying the amount of support is not likely to be effective.

Burnout, Professional

A model for peak performance.

This study identified major factors that contributed to peak performance among eight nursing educators. The peak performers were interviewed 3 times over 8 years. Intense commitment to a mission, continual performance assessment, concentration on satisfaction and rewards, and the ability to set priorities and seek social support were delineated as factors in peak performance. Commitment to a personal mission that aligns with the demands of the university was a peak performer's ultimate personal investment and service to students and the university.

Faculty, Nursing

Nursing needs minorities.

Community college and university nursing programs need to increase the number of nurses entering our profession with a special emphasis on those of ethnic minority background. To advance nursing education and the status of nursing joint ADN-BSN articulated nursing programs need to be developed. Many more aggressive and sophisticated strategies for increasing the pool of minorities nurses throughout the higher educational system must be employed. Only then can quality service to our multi-ethnic society be ensured.

Humans

Further psychometric evaluation of the Spanish language health-promoting lifestyle profile.

The reliability and validity of the Spanish language version of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (Spanish-HPLP) was evaluated for a predominantly Central American sample. A convenience sample (N = 106) completed the demographic sheet and Spanish-HPLP. Alpha coefficients were 0.94 for the total scale and ranged from 0.64 to 0.89 for the subscales. Significant Pearson correlations were found between Spanish-HPLP scores and the variables of age, education, income, length of residence in the United States, and perceived health status. Significant differences based on sex and marital status were noted. The Spanish-HPLP was found to be reliable for this sample. Although content and construct validity were supported, the instrument is in need of further convergent, or criterion-related validation.

Adolescent