Biomedical subjects

N Visitsunthorn

Publications and source records attributed to N Visitsunthorn.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2002

Prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema among university students in Bangkok.

Prevalence of childhood asthma is increasing worldwide including in developing countries such as Thailand. Despite a wide availability of epidemiological data on childhood asthma in Thailand, prevalence of asthma in adults has not been well studied within this community. Objectives of this study were to study prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema in a random group of university students in Bangkok using the standardized written and video questionnaires from the ISAAC phase I protocol. The ISAAC phase I, written and video (International version, AVQ 3.0) questionnaires were administered to 3631 randomly selected university students from six universities in Bangkok. The age range of subjects were between 16-31 years (mean +/- SD= 19.1 +/- 1.7 years). There were 1197 males and 2434 females (ratio = 1:2.03). Data were entered into and analysed by the EpiInfo 4 program. Prevalence of wheeze within the past 12 months and of diagnosed asthma for this group of subjects was 10.1% and 8.8%. Prevalence of allergic rhinitis (nasal with eye symptoms within the past 12 months) was 26.3% and of eczema (rash at typical sites of atopic dermatitis, within the past 12 months) was 9.4%. Presence of rhinoconjunctivitis, gender and age were significant risk factors for asthma with male, younger subjects and those with rhinoconjunctivitis reported more frequent asthma-related symptoms (P < 0.01). As in previous studies which found an increase in asthma among Thai children, this survey indicates that the prevalence of asthma among Thai university students has increased to the same level as in several European countries. A large number of adults residing in Bangkok are suffering from rhinitis-related symptoms, the majority of which probably represents allergic rhinitis.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Theophylline toxicity in Thai children.

Theophylline is a useful drug in the treatment of respiratory diseases with bronchospasm but it has very narrow safety margin. The study was carried out in 44 admitted Thai children with plasma theophylline levels > 20 microg/ml to determine the association between blood levels and symptoms of theophylline toxicity. The prevalence of theophylline toxicity (plasma theophylline level > 20 microg/ml) in Thai children is about 11%. Thirty-four percent of the patients who had theophylline levels less than 30 microg/ml and 78% of those who had levels more than 30 microg/ml had symptoms of theophylline toxicity. The symptoms were related to the gastrointestinal tract (34%), cardiovascular system (18.2%), neurological system (6.8%) and metabolism (54.5%). The possible causes of theophylline toxicity were respiratory tract infection, theophylline overdosage, interaction with other drugs, impairment of liver function, congenital heart disease and theophylline usage in neonates. Theophylline is still a useful drug but should be used with caution. Theophylline levels should be checked in every child who receives theophylline.

Bronchodilator Agents↗

PubMed2001

Allergic conjunctivitis.

The purpose of this research is to study the clinical features and risk factors of various types of allergic conjunctivitis. Four hundred and forty-five patients with a history of itching, foreign body sensation, lacrimation and red eyes were examined, and a skin test was performed and assessed to grade the severity. The mean age of the subjects was 24.5 +/- 16.3 years with female preponderance, except for vernal keratoconjunctivitis. The majority of the patients had perennial allergic conjunctivitis. Ninety-five percent of the patients had associated allergic diseases, especially allergic rhinitis. Sixty-six percent of the patients had a family history of atopy. Most patients had symptoms at night. Symptoms persisted throughout the year and were generally triggered by exposure to house dust. The allergy skin tests to common aero-allergens were positive in 95% of patients tested. Common allergens causing sensitization were house-dust mites, house dust, cockroaches, and grass pollen. Environmental control and avoidance of these allergens should be stressed in the management of these conditions.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Cold urticaria in Thai children: comparison between cyproheptadine and ketotifen in the treatment.

The study was performed in 6 Thai children with primary acquired cold urticaria. They all suffered from generalized urticaria and two of them also had angioedema. All of them had normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate, complement 3 and negative VDRL, TPHA, hepatitis B screen and cold agglutinin titer. Cryoglobulin was checked in 3 cases and showed negative results A double-blind cross-over study to compare the effectiveness of cyproheptadine and ketotifen demonstrated that the efficacy of cyproheptadine and ketotifen on clinical symptoms and ice cube test was not significantly different (p > 0.05). Both of them showed good results in the treatment of cold urticaria with mild side effects. During the follow up, 5 cases showed complete recovery while the other one developed one or two exacerbations per year upon cold exposure. However, the symptoms were mild and subsided on administration of one or two doses of H1 antihistamine. Our data demonstrated that ketotifen was as effective as cyproheptadine in the treatment of cold urticaria in Thai children.

Anti-Allergic Agents↗

PubMed1995

Antimicrobial therapy in Plesiomonas shigelloides-associated diarrhea in Thai children.

A retrospective case-controlled study was performed in 36 Thai children with Plesiomonas shigelloides (P. shigelloides)-associated diarrhea admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University from August 1990 to December 1992. Nineteen cases received antibiotics while seventeen did not receive any. The two groups were comparable in age, sex, duration of fever, duration and severity of diarrhea and medical treatment. The antibiotics given were norfloxacin, wintomylon, colistin, gentamicin, ceftriaxone, co-trimoxazole and ampicillin. In our study, 100% of P. shigelloides isolates were susceptible to quinolones and cephalosporins, while only 9% were susceptible to ampicillin. Co-trimoxazole, gentamicin, netilmicin, chloramphenicol and nalidixic acid showed high susceptibility. The duration of fever and diarrhea after treatment was not significantly different between treatment and control groups (p > 0.05). Therefore, we conclude that antibiotics did not change the duration of fever and diarrhea in Thai children with P. shigelloides-associated diarrhea.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1995

Childhood malnutrition: an analysis of the effects of nutritional advice.

An analysis of malnutrition was done in 65 infants and preschool children (18 boys and 47 girls) who were under the third percentile of weight for age. Fifty-seven percent of cases has hematocrits of less than 36%, 7% had hematocrits of less than 30% and two had iron deficiency anemia which improved after iron supplement. Eosinophils of more than 400 cells/mm3 were found in 35% of cases. Eleven percent had eosinophils of more than 1,000 cells/mm3. Parasites were found on stool examination in 12.5% of cases. Bone development was retarded in 39% of 23 cases. In 7 cases with bone development delayed more than 6 months, thyroid function and trace elements were analysed and found to be within normal limits. In 5 cases with delayed bone development and height less than 5 cm/year, growth hormones showed normal levels. Proper nutritional advice resulted in improvement in body weight and height in 57% of cases, tricept skin fold in 73%, bicept skin fold in 60%, arm muscle area in 50% and arm fat area in 29% of cases. Improvement was not associated with family income or education of the people who cared for the patients.

Anthropometry↗

PubMed1995

A comparison of admission patterns of childhood asthma in 1982 and 1992.

The patterns of childhood asthma admission to the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University in 1982 and 1992 were studied and compared. The number of childhood asthma admissions were 128 cases in 1982 an 132 cases in 1992. Male to female ratio changed from 1.3:1 in 1982 to 1.9:1 in 1992. The average age on admission was 57 months in 1982 vs 62 months in 1992 which was not significantly different (p > 0.05). The admission pattern of cases under 1 year of age went down from 16% in 1982 to 6% in 1992. At emergency room, adrenaline injection was used for all asthma cases in 1982 but decreased to 30% of the patients in 1992 with the replacement of nebulized beta 2 agonist. The percentage of cases that were treated with aminophylline, corticosteroid and oxygen therapy were comparable between both periods. The most common form of steroid used in admissions changed from hydrocortisone in 1982 to methyl prednisolone in 1992. The use of antibiotics went down from 92% in 1982 to 80% in 1992. All of the admission cases in both periods recovered and were later discharged. The average period of admission was 3.9 days in 1982 and was not significant different (p > 0.05) from 4.9 days in 1992.

Asthma↗