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Biomedical subjects

K C Lun

Publications and source records attributed to K C Lun.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Review of problems of massive blood transfusion in a surgical intensive care unit.

A retrospective review of 29 surgical patients who were massively transfused perioperatively according to a standard transfusion protocol was carried out. Volume of blood transfused was 2,300 mls to 12,440 mls, with a mean of 5,168 mls. Results of this study showed: administration of bicarbonate should be individualised and based on blood gas analysis. deficiency in factor V and factor VIII in CPD adenine blood did not cause disturbance in haemostasis. Postoperative thrombocytopenia was significant, 89.28% had platelet count less than 150 X 10(9)/L. Further drop in platelet count was observed 24 hours postoperatively. Hyperkalaemia was not observed, hypokalaemia following surgery with massive blood transfusion was observed in 53.6% of our patients.

Acid-Base Imbalance↗
PubMed1985

Home blood glucose monitoring, glycaemic control and diabetic complications.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of home blood glucose monitoring on diabetic complications and metabolic control. Forty Chinese and Indian patients participated in the Diabetic Society of Singapore National Home Blood Glucose Monitoring (HBGM) Programme. The clinical progress, the blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin concentrations, and the platelet aggregation of the aforementioned patients were studied over a 6-month period; the results were compared with those from a matched, albeit smaller, control group of 18 diabetic patients who were on treatment but not in the HBGM programme. At the end of the six month period, three patients in the control group showed clinical deterioration of peripheral neuropathy in contrast to one patient on HBGM. Due to the small number of patients, the difference in the findings was not statistically significant. Patients on HBGM demonstrated significant improvement in mean grouped blood glucose profile values, 135 +/- 8 to 118 +/- 5 mg/dl, p less than 0.01, and glycosylated haemoglobin levels, 10.3 +/- 0.4 to 9.3 +/- 0.3%, p less than 0.01. The platelet aggregability was unchanged. In contrast, patients in the control group developed a significant increase in platelet aggregation (30 +/- 4% to 37 +/- 5%, p less than 0.05), although the blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin concentrations were not significantly altered. This study demonstrated that patients on a six-month HBGM programme were able to achieve improved glycaemic control associated with a trend towards decreased deterioration of diabetic neuropathy and platelet aggregability.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Comparison of three types of tubal sterilisation: the medan experience.

Three methods of tubal sterilisation, viz. laparoscopy, culdoscopy and minilaparotomy, were evaluated in a trial involving 300 voluntary acceptors at the University Hospital in Medan, Indonesia. Equal numbers of women were randomly assigned to the three surgical groups. The results showed little differences among patients in the three groups for age, number of living children, contraceptive and abortion histories and pre-existing medical conditions. As expected, average surgical time for minilaparotomy was significantly higher than the times reported for the endoscopic techniques. Minilaparotomy also produced the highest incidence of operative complications while culdoscopy accounted for the highest rate of hospitalisation following operation. Four-year follow-up of the patients revealed only one case of pregnancy in the culdoscopy group, three years after tubectomy .

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

The role of Chinese traditional medical practice as a form of health care in Singapore--III. Conditions, illness behaviour and medical preferences of patients of institutional clinics.

Both the modern scientific and the Chinese traditional forms of health care are within easy geographical, economical and quantitative accessibility to the people in Singapore. The fourth component of accessibility, socio-cultural component encompasses the social milieu surrounding the individual, and the values and beliefs attached to diseases and health care services. This paper reveals the findings of a survey of a quota sample of patients in institutional clinics providing Chinese traditional medical consultations. The survey aimed to look at the types of illness conditions presented in these clinics, the multi-usage of both modern and traditional health care by these patients, and the inter-relationship between illness behaviour and differential preferences of treatment methods for various disease conditions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Low birthweight of live singletons in Singapore, 1967-1974.

A random sample of 23 591 single livebirths was drawn from the Singapore Registry for 1967-1974, and information extracted from the birth certificates. The proportion of low birthweight infants (2500 g or less) fell markedly from 9.1% in 1967 to 5.7% in 1974, which has not been the finding in other studies. Variation in the proportions of low birthweight infants by sex, maternal age, parity, and social class, are broadly in agreement with other studies. Indians were found to have significantly smaller babies (mean weight of 3020 g) with a higher proportion of low birthweight ones (11.5%) than the Malays (3080 g and 8.1%) and the Chinese (3130 g and 6.1%). This is despite similar distributions of gestational age, and for term babies the differences in low birthweight proportions are highly significant with Chinese 5.0%, Malays 6.5%, and Indians 9.8%. The reasons for this are discussed with the implication that lower birthweights in Indians are to some extent of ethnic/genetic origin.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Low-dose bromocriptine therapy in severe Parkinson's disease.

We present an interim report of an ongoing, single-blind study of the effectiveness and safety of bromocriptine mesylate (Parlodel) in 15 patients, 14 of whom had severe idiopathic Parkinson's disease (Stages 4 and 5 on the Hoehn and Yahr Scale). The patients had never received levodopa, amantadine, or bromocriptine. Gradually increasing doses of bromocriptine were assessed: Initial daily dosage was 1.25 mg, with weekly increments of 1.25 mg/day until either the clinical response was satisfactory or a maximum of 15 mg/day was reached. The patients were on no other antiparkinsonian agents, except trihexyphenidyl HCl (Artane). Response to treatment was scored on the Columbia Scale. The patients discussed in this report had been in the study for varying times, ranging from 1 month to 3 years. Only one patient who entered this study dropped out because his response to bromocriptine was unsatisfactory; he had taken the drug for 2 weeks. No serious adverse reactions were noted with the gradually increasing dosage regimen. Response on the whole was very satisfactory; patients improved by at least two stages on the Hoehn and Yahr Scale. Improvement began within 48 h of onset of treatment with 1.25 mg daily. The preliminary results of this study indicate that low-dose bromocriptine as a first-line drug in severe Parkinson's disease is definitely warranted.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The effect of parity on uterine activity in labour.

Uterine activity was studied in 40 multiparous Singapore women of Chinese origin who were in normal labour and had a normal delivery. A catheter tip pressure transducer coupled with a uterine activity integrator was used to quantify uterine activity. Normal labour progress was defined as labour progressing within 2 h to the right of a line drawn on the partogram at 1 cm/h in the active phase of labour. A wide range of activity was observed. The median level of uterine activity rose from 815 kPas/15 min at 3 cm dilatation to 1731 kPas/15 min at 9 cm dilatation with an overall median level of 1130 kPas/15 min. The 10th centile value rose from 430 kPas/15 min at 3 cm dilatation to 923 kPas/15 min at 9 cm dilatation. Profiles of dilatation-specific activity values were constructed. These values were significantly lower than in a comparative group of nulliparous patients. The parous uterus requires to expend significantly less effort to effect normal vaginal delivery than its nulliparous counterpart.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Characteristics of uterine activity in nulliparous labour.

Uterine activity was studied in 40 nulliparous Chinese women who were in normal labour and had a normal delivery. A catheter-tip pressure transducer coupled with a uterine activity integrator was used to observe and quantify uterine activity. Normal labour progress was defined as labour progressing within 2 h to the right of a line drawn at 1 cm/h in the active phase. A wide range of uterine activity was recorded with varying degrees of co-ordination. The minimum level of uterine activity likely to be associated with labour progress was 650 kPas/15 min at 3 cm cervical dilatation. The median level in the active phase of normal labour was 1440 kPas/15 min. There was a strong correlation between measurements in kPas/15 min and Montevideo units/15 min (r = 0.71, P less than 0.001). No significant increase was found in basal tone.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

The role of Chinese traditional medical practice as a form of health care in Singapore--IV. Physicians in private practice.

Although the government of the Republic of Singapore do not give official recognition to the estimated 1000 Chinese physicians in the country, these practitioners of traditional herbal medicine still enjoy the patronage of a certain segment of the population, 76% of whom are ethnically Chinese. In an earlier paper, we have reported on the characteristics of Chinese physicians who volunteer their service for institutions that provide Chinese traditional health care in Singapore. This complementary paper reports the findings of a survey of 55 physicians who run their own private practice about whom, prior to our study, very little was known.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Neuromuscular effects of some opioid agonists and antagonists.

The effects of morphine, pethidine, (-) naloxone, N-methylnaloxone, naltrexone and levallorphan on acetylcholine-induced contraction of the toad rectus were studied. The drugs were shown to inhibit the contraction, and their inhibitory effect was suggested to be partly mediated via a peripheral opiate binding site. The depression of acetylcholine-induced contraction by levallorphan and dextrallorphan might indicate possible involvement of stereospecific binding sites, as the latter required a significantly higher concentration to produce the same magnitude of depression. Statistical analysis of the slope of the computer-plotted dose-response of acetylcholine in the presence and absence of each of the opioids indicates that these drugs can be classified into four categories. Morphine and naltrexone each formed a class of its own; (-) naloxone, N-methylnaloxone and pethidine formed another class; levallorphan and dextrallorphan formed the fourth class. The classification of the opioids into four categories reveals the possible existence of multiple opiate binding sites on the skeletal muscle. The significance of each of the sub-types of binding sites in the contraction of skeletal muscle and the mechanism by which it affects the contraction remains to be investigated.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1979

A socio-epidemiologic survey of veneral diseases among national servicemen attending a VD hospital in Singapore.

Between September 22 and October 29, 1976, a socio-epidemiologic survey of venereal diseases (VD) was carried out at a hospital for VD and skin diseases in Singapore. The study subjects comprised 401 national servicemen from the Singapore Armed Forces who were selected by periodic stratified random sampling from among army patients at the hospital. These subjects were divided into two groups, one consisting of those suffering solely from venereal diseases and the other from non-venereal skin diseases only. Studies were made to compare the personal characteristics, educational and social backgrounds and sexual behavior between these two groups. On the basis of the results, a profile of a soldier likely to contract venereal diseases was made. The study showed that soldiers have inadequate knowledge of venereal diseases. Suggestions are made to improve education as to venereal diseases and to reduce risk of infection in the armed forces.

Adult↗