Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

V Wiwanitkit

Publications and source records attributed to V Wiwanitkit.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Implication of negative urine pregnancy testing in subjects with unknown last menstrual period.

BACKGROUND: In laboratory medicine, a urine pregnancy test is an easily available diagnostic test today. Urine pregnancy is a monitoring of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which is secreted by the trophoblastic cells of the placenta. The most common indication for a urine pregnancy test is secondary amenorrhea. However, there are other conditions that can lead to secondary amenorrhea. Only a few recent studies have estimated population pregnancy rates using objective, laboratory-based criteria. METHODS: A study on laboratory-measured pregnancy rates and the correlation to age in a tertiary hospital in Thailand was carried out. This study not only provides good information from a medical aspect but also from a social aspect. The data from the medical records of female patients who underwent a diagnostic urine pregnancy test at the Division of Laboratory Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok Thailand from August 2004 to December 2004 were reviewed. The definitive last menstrual period was not known for all subjects. RESULTS: There were 1,005 medical records reviewed in this study. From the total medical records, there was no subject younger than ten years or older than 50 years of age. The diagnostic test results were positive in 121 cases (12.0%) and negative in 884 cases (88.0%). Classified by age group, we found that most subjects were under 35 years of age. The laboratory-measured pregnancy rates in the subjects aged less or equal to, or more than 35 years old were 11.3% and 14.8%, respectively. There was no significant difference in positive rate in either group. CONCLUSION: In our setting, a negative pregnancy test in the presence of amenorrhea can imply more than a pregnancy. Close follow-up and checking for other possible pathological conditions should be considered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

New emerging blood-borne hepatitis viral pathogens and the feasibility of passing thorough the placenta: an appraisal.

In countries with a high prevalence of blood-borne pathogen infections, transmission to infants commonly occurs from an infected mother during pregnancy. Maternal diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites may sometimes be transmitted vertically. For many pathogens, several questions remain unanswered about the pathogenesis of vertical transmission, the relative risk associated with each mode of transmission, the rate of transmission from mother to child, and the factors that might contribute to the efficiency of transmission. There is also a need to quantify the contribution made by intrauterine versus intrapartum events. Here, the feasibility of some new emerging blood-borne hepatitis viral pathogens (hepatitis G virus, hepatitis SEN virus and hepatitis TT virus) passing through the placenta was analyzed based on a consideration of nonostructure level. Based on the particle size as a single factor, it is hereby proposed that the transmission of the studied viruses via the placenta is difficult. Possible infection due to other processes, especially intrapartum infection due to micro-trauma delivery, similar to HIV infection, might be a more important route of vertical transmission.

Blood-Borne Pathogens↗
PubMed2004

A note on the correlation between rainfall and the prevalence of Gnathostoma spp. infective stage larvae in swamp eels in Thailand.

Gnathostoma spinigerum is the major causative agent of human gnathostomiasis, a parasitic zoonosis with a great variety of clinical manifestations. Generally, humans are infected by consumption of third-stage larvae (L3) of G. spinigerum in infected hosts in the form of partially cooked or uncooked food. Surveys of the contamination of Gnathostoma spp. L3 in swamp eels are useful for prevention and control of diseases and have been continuously performed in Thailand. The author performed a retrospective study on 33 previous cross-sectional surveys with geographical data and the prevalence of Gnathostoma spp. L3 that covered 12 provinces in Thailand. The relation between rainfall (derived from the geographical data) and the prevalence of Gnathostomo spp. L3 in swamp eels (derived from the overall infection rate of Gnathostoma spp. L3) was investigated. The least-square equation plot rainfall (y) versus prevalence (x) is y= 9.68x + 1,035.12 (r = 0.83; p < 0.01). A significant correlation was discerned between rainfall and the prevalence of eel infection but not for the season of the survey. Similar to the previous study, the prevalence of eel infection may depend on rainfall rather than season. However, this study focused on only 33 cross-sectional surveys in Thailand; further similar study in other countries to assess the correlation between rainfall and the prevalence of infection is required to substantiate this conclusion.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

The use of CAM by HIV-positive patients in Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is common in the general population, including patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Our objective was to determine the frequency of use of CAM by HIV-positive patients in Thailand. METHODS: During year 2000, we performed an interview survey on 160 HIV-seropositive patients attending Out-Patient Division, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. Data were collected on prevalence and patterns of CAM use. RESULTS: A total of 160 HIV-infected patients (107 males and 53 females) were included of whom 152 (95%) used CAM and 124 (78%) visited a CAM provider. The most common use CAM detected in our study was a ritual remedy from Buddhist temples (128 cases, 84%), followed by a novel regime, a biophysical approach (102 cases, 64%). Most patients used more than one CAM. The most common source of information on CAM was friends. Patients who saw CAM providers made a median of four visits to them per year, compared with 12 visits per year to their primary care physician and nurse practitioner. CONCLUSION: CAM is frequently used by HIV-positive patients in Thailand and their physicians need to be aware of this possibility.

Complementary Therapies↗
PubMed2002

Knowledge about blood donation among a sample of Thai university students.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Blood banks in Thailand use only a voluntary donation system. Although this has been established for many years, the quantity of blood is still insufficient. Knowledge about blood donation and attitudes toward it are inadequate, especially in rural areas. The registry data of the National Blood Centre, Thai Red Cross Society, indicate that most voluntary blood donors are university students. The present study was therefore conducted among the students of Chulalongkorn University to assess their knowledge of voluntary, non-remunerated blood donation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four hundred students participated in this study. A self-administered questionnaire and face-to-face interview on various aspects of blood donation were used for data collection. RESULTS: Although most participants (80%) knew about blood donation, only 11% (44 subjects) had ever donated blood voluntarily. We found no significant correlation between demographic data (gender, age, educational level of subjects studied) and such knowledge or actual blood donation. Among the non-donor respondents, fear (305 cases) was the most common reason for not donating blood. CONCLUSIONS: Greater knowledge about blood donation does not lead to donation. Therefore, specific campaigns are needed to convert this into actual voluntary donation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Marked increase in serum transferrin receptor among Thai children with Hb-E-beta-thalassaemia.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) level in patients with Hb-E-beta-thalassaemia attending a paediatric haematology clinic. METHODS: Sixty-four patients with Hb-E-beta-thalassaemia aged 2.9-10.8 years were attending a paediatric haematology clinic at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. Circulating transferrin receptor was measured, as was the complete blood count and percentage of reticulocytes. A transfusion regimen recommended by the Thalassaemia International Federation was used whenever parents agreed to the treatment. RESULTS: In patients with Hb-E-beta-thalassaemia, the concentration of sTfR varied from 1.88 to 28.44 mg/L (mean +/- SD 13.99 +/- 5.37), while in the control group, it varied from 0.95 to 2.56 mg/L (mean +/- SD 1.58 +/- 0.41; n = 31). The sTfR level correlated inversely to a single measurement of haemoglobin in the same specimen (r = - 0.433; P = 0.00) and was elevated compared to the control group (P = 0.00; alpha < 0.05). In addition, the sTfR level correlated inversely to mean pre-transfusion haemoglobin (r = - 0.36; P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The level of sTfR is elevated in children with Hb-E-beta-thalassaemia. The sTfR level can be used as an adjunct real-time assessment of erythropoietic activity, comparable with mean pre-transfusion haemoglobin. Measurement of sTfR is easy using most automated chemical analyzers, and material can be obtained from routine specimen collections. Further studies should be carried out in a larger population to verify the benefits of this test to patients.

Biomarkers↗
PubMed2002

A survey of the infective larvae of Gnathostoma spinigerum in swamp eels bought in a local market in Bangkok, Thailand.

The livers were separated from the viscera of 2738 swamp eels (Monopterus alba) purchased from Klong Toey market, the largest market in Bangkok, between June 1999 and May 2000. When these livers were digested in artificial gastric juice, 524 (19.1%) were found to be infected with the human-infective, third-stage larvae (L3) of Gnathostoma spp. All the identified larvae were confirmed morphologically to be G. spinigerum. Prevalence of the infection varied with season, from a high of 38.3% in September to a low of 7.0% in April, being generally high during the rainy season and winter (June-February). The mean (S.E.) number of L3 recovered/infected liver, which was 3.99 (0.52) overall, also varied with the season, peaking at 5.38 (1.89) in January, but the month-on-month variation was not statistically significant. Although the results of an earlier study had indicated that the prevalence of eel infection decreased in November, after the rainy season, the most abrupt decrease observed in the present study occurred at the beginning of summer (March). However, the period covered by the present study was unusually wet, and the prevalence of eel infection may depend on rainfall more than season.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Causative agents of liver abscess in those with liver cirrhosis: a 10-year case review of hospitalized patients in Thailand.

Although patients with cirrhosis of the liver show relative immunosuppression and therefore have increased susceptibility to most infections, they rarely develop liver abscesses. In a retrospective case review, the pathogens causing the liver abscesses observed, between January 1992 and December 2001 at the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, in 44 hospitalized patients diagnosed as cases of liver cirrhosis were investigated. The most common clinical symptoms and signs of the abscesses--abdominal pain (80%), fever and chills (73%), and abdominal tenderness (73%)--were similar to those seen in non-cirrhotic patients with abscesses. The frequency of liver abscess among the cirrhotic patients was low (0.46%). Most (71%) of the abscesses were in the right lobe and most (71%) of those with abscesses only had a single abscess. Surprisingly, many of the abscesses (36%) were apparently caused by amoebae. Bacterial pathogens were identified in eight patients (18%) by blood culture and 15 (34%) patients by pus culture. Seven (16%) of the blood cultures and 13 (30%) of the pus contained Gram-negative aerobes, indicating that such pathogens, particularly Klebsiella pneumoniae (in six pus and six blood cultures) and Escherichia coli (in three pus cultures and one blood), were the most common causes of the bacterial abscesses. Pus culture appeared more successful than blood culture for bacterial abscesses, and amoebic abscesses could always be identified by direct microscopical examination of pus samples. Aspiration of liver abscesses, to obtain pus samples for culture and microscopy, is therefore recommended.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

How medical students in their pre-clinical year perceive their own hepatitis-B-virus status: the results of a study in a Thai medical school.

In 2000 all of the medical students of the Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok who were then in their pre-clinical year were interviewed about their hepatitis-B-virus (HBV) status. Of the 215 interviewees, 125 (58.2%) claimed to know their HBV status. Seventy (32.6%) of the subjects assumed they were immune because they had already been vaccinated against the virus, 32 (14.9%) claimed to have natural immunity following exposure to the virus, and 14 (6.5%) reported that they were HBV carriers. Another five (2.3%) of the subjects said they had been tested for HBV and found seronegative and the remaining four subjects (1.9%) who said they knew their status declined to give any more details. The 90 subjects who did not know their status were all offered HBV screening, and 62 agreed to be tested, both for the surface antigen of the virus (HBsAG) and antibody to the viral core (anti-HBc). These tests revealed that 37 subjects were seronegative (negative for both HBsAg and anti-HBc), 11 appeared to have natural immunity (negative for HBsAg but positive for anti-HBc) and the other 14 were carriers (positive for HBsAg but negative for anti-HBc). Four of the 14 carriers were also positive for the HBV 'e' antigen (HBeAg), indicating that they were highly infectious. Medical students form a high-risk group for infection with blood-borne pathogens, including HBV. That more than 40% of the pre-clinical students in the present study did not know their HBV status and fewer than 50% had been vaccinated against the virus are therefore causes for concern. Those students entering Thai medical schools for the first time clearly need to be better educated about hepatitis B and to be encouraged to be vaccinated before they begin any clinical practices.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Combined one-tube osmotic fragility (OF) test and dichlorophenol-indolphenol (DCIP) test screening for hemoglobin disorders, an experience in 213 Thai pregnant women.

OBJECTIVE: Hemoglobin disorders are an important health problem in Thailand. Therefore, screening tests for abnormal genotypes offer an effective method for coping with this problem. This study has been designed to study basic screening tests for inherited hemoglobin disorders in Thai pregnant women. METHODS: This study was designed as a diagnostic test. EDTA blood specimens from 213 pregnant women were used in this study. The screening methods studied were the one-tube osmotic fragility (OF) test and the dichlorophenol-indolphenol (DCIP) test. The standard method used in this study was hemoglobin typing applying the cellulose acetate hemoglobin electrophoresis method. Diagnostic properties such as sensitivity, specificity and predictive value were used for data analysis. RESULTS: The results obtained from this study demonstrated the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value for Hb E disorders screened by the DCIP test to be 100%, 97.2%, 94.4% and 100%, respectively. For beta thalassemia disorder screened by the OF test, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value were 100%, 83.7%, 10.5% and 100%, respectively. Evaluation for combining both methods as screening tools for all hemoglobin disorders revealed a sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of 100%, 97.1%, 94.9% and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The combination of both the OF and the DCIP test as a screening tool for hemoglobin disorders in pregnant women is an effective method and should be used in the antenatal clinic.

2,6-Dichloroindophenol↗