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Biomedical subjects

K T Tan

Publications and source records attributed to K T Tan.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Occupational asthma due to ethylene diamine.

We report a case of bronchial asthma due to ethylene diamine in a chemical worker. The typical relationship with work exposure was elicited from the occupational history and serial peak flow measurements. A late dual asthmatic reaction was seen in bronchial provocation test with ethylene diamine. Bronchial hyper-responsiveness to isopropyly alcohol and histamine was observed and was likely to be the result rather than a predisposing factor for the development of occupational asthma. Amines are a powerful group of small molecular weight asthmatogens that are commonly used in various types of industries locally and should be recognised in the clinical evaluation of workers with asthma.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Health problems among spice grinders.

Sixty-one male spice grinders from 14 factories were studied to determine if they had any skin problems, respiratory symptoms or hearing loss associated with their work. All subjects were interviewed and examined. Audiometric examinations were arranged for those with significant noise exposure. Assessments of dust and noise levels were conducted. Symptoms of upper respiratory tract irritation, such as sneezing and runny nose, during work were experienced by 49.2 per cent of workers. These symptoms were maximal in the first few weeks of employment in spice grinding and did not recur in half of the affected workers. Over 26 per cent of the workers experienced a warm or burning sensation of the skin when grinding chili or pepper. None of the spice grinders had symptoms or evidence on physical examination of allergic skin disease or asthma. Noise-induced hearing loss was detected in 21 per cent of the workers examined but none had severe disabling deafness. Dust levels ranged from 0.03 to 0.82 mg/m3, with a mean value of 0.15 mg/m3. Noise exposure was significant, with levels of between 87 and 98 dBA. Control measures to reduce the noise and dust exposure are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

A study of non-toxic goitre.

A population study showed a prevalence of 2.8% for nontoxic goitres. The clinical significance of non-toxic goitres were not previously defined. This study examined 64 patients with non-toxic goitres which were classified clinically as diffuse (gp1), lobular (gp2) and nodular (gp3). They were studied in terms of thyroid antibodies, radioisotope scanning, ultrasonography and fine-needle aspiration cytology. The goitres were mainly nodular (69%), the rest were diffuse and lobular in equal numbers. Seventy percent of the nodular goitres had 1 nodule. One case of diffuse goitre and half the lobular goitres had multinodularity demonstrated on imaging. Antithyroid antibodies were detected in 20% of gp2, 7% of gp3 and none in gp1. Malignancy was found in 2% of gp2, 11% of gp3 and nil in gp1. A management strategy for non-toxic goitre was discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Oral glucose tolerance test--can the reflectance meter replace laboratory-based methods?

Sixteen national servicemen detected to have glycosuria on routine medical examination were subjected to 3 successive oral glucose tolerance tests. Capillary blood glucose was measured by reflectance meter in the first test (oGTT1), venous whole blood glucose by Beckman Synchron CX3 Analyser in the second (oGTT2) and by both methods in the third (oGTT3). In oGTT1, 1 subject was classified as diabetic and 15 as Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT). In oGTT3, using capillary blood glucose, 1 was diabetic, 8 IGT and 7 normal. Using venous whole blood, in oGTT2, 1 was diabetic, 3 IGT and 12 normal as compared to 1 diabetic, 4 IGT and 11 normal in oGTT3. There is considerable variation in classification as a result of using capillary blood glucose measured by reflectance meter as compared to the laboratory-based method. Capillary blood glucose measurement for oral glucose tolerance test cannot be recommended.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Diabetic retinopathy--results of a two year screening programme in two medical units in Singapore.

Three hundred patients with Diabetes Mellitus from 2 medical units in Singapore were screened for retinopathy over a 24 month period. Prevalence of retinopathy in this population was 38% with sight-threatening retinopathy in 17%. Risk factors associated with retinopathy included a longer duration of disease, the presence of hypertension, nephropathy and poor glycaemic control. Prevalence of retinopathy was higher in females. Malays and Indians had higher prevalence of retinopathy than Chinese.

Diabetic Nephropathies↗
PubMed1990

Pathogenesis of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The majority of patients with diabetes mellitus can be classified as suffering from either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. The pathogenetic pathways for these two categories of diabetes appear to be distinct and separate. Both forms of diabetes have a genetic as well as environmental component in their pathogenesis. Type 1 diabetes has a weaker genetic link; its association with HLA antigens is well established. Type 2 diabetes has a stronger genetic association but the exact gene or genes responsible is unknown. The environmental trigger in Type 1 diabetes may be a viral infection while urbanisation, obesity, physical inactivity and stress may trigger the development of Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic autoimmune disease where beta cell destruction may occur over a number of years before clinical diabetes is diagnosed. Type 2 diabetes is the result of an interplay of relative insulin deficiency or a defect in insulin release together with insulin resistance. Hyperglycaemia perpetuates the problem of beta cell defect and insulin resistance. The understanding of pathogenesis of diabetes is the key to prevention and treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Autoantibodies↗
PubMed1989

Occupational asthma due to unheated polyvinylchloride resin dust.

Polyvinylchloride (PVC) resins are widely used in industry. Asthma due to the thermal degradation products of PVC are well documented. In this first case of occupational asthma due to unheated PVC resin dust the patient was exposed to PVC resin dust during the mixing of chemicals used for making plastic seals for bottle caps.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Occupational asthma due to ozone.

Ozone increases bronchial reactivity in normal and atopic subjects. Ozone is produced by high voltage electric discharge. Persons with pre-existent bronchial hyperreactivity should be excluded from work where significant exposure to ozone can occur. We describe a case of occupational asthma due to ozone. The levels of ozone were about 0.04 ppm.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Respiratory function in cadmium battery workers--a follow-up study.

The lung function status of workers in a cadmium-nickel battery factory was re-examined 3 years after an initial study which showed a mild restrictive effect. During this period, further measures were taken to reduce the cadmium exposure. Of the 44 'original' cadmium-exposed workers, 17 were still exposed to cadmium. Another 13 were transferred to non-cadmium work at least 6 months and 14 left the company at least 1 year before the present study. Blood and urine cadmium concentrations were considerably lower than previously, consistent with the decreased cadmium-in-air levels. The total lung capacity increased both in the workers who were still exposed to cadmium and those who ceased exposure. The latter group also had increased vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in one second. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms decreased particularly in the workers who were no longer exposed to cadmium.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

A study on the health hazard of toluene in the polythene printing industry in Singapore.

A study was conducted to determine if there were any health effects among the polythene printers who were exposed to toluene and to evaluate the use of urinary hippuric acid in biological monitoring. The study covered 54 printers from 6 plants out of the universe population of 32 polythene printing plants who used toluene as ink dilutants. They were matched with 54 controls for age, sex, race and similar occupational status. All were interviewed and examined clinically. 23 patients were selected for neurobehavioural tests. 26% of the printers had more than 10 years of exposure to toluene. No case of clinical encephalopathy or peripheral neuropathy was detected. 38.9% of the printers had hand dermatitis compared with 1.9% among the controls. Results of the neurobehavioural tests for the 23 printers were not statistically different from the controls. The results of the liver function test were within normal limits. The mean toluene-in-air level was 246 +/- 25 mg/m. Mean blood toluene was 0.63 +/- 0.14 microgram/ml. The mean urinary hippuric acid was 2.83 +/- 0.48 mg/ml as compared to 0.35 +/- 0.08 mg/ml in the controls. Urine hippuric acid corrected to SG of 1.016 was well correlated to air toluene level (r = 0.81). Toluene appears not to have any significant nervous system or liver effects in these printers. Urinary hippuric acid is a useful indicator for biological monitoring of atmospheric exposure to toluene.

Adolescent↗