Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of senior high school students regarding human immunodeficiency virus infection.

A survey of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding human immunodeficiency virus infection was performed on 899 students from 3 government-administered high schools located in the Bangkok Metropolitan area. Initially, all students completed a written questionnaire (pre-test) regarding HIV/AIDS. Following this, they attended a slide lecture presentation given by a specialist physician. The same test questionnaire was then completed by the same students six weeks (post-test) later for comparison of their previous KAP. The subjects composed of male to female ratio equal to that of the median age 15-16 years old. Sixty-seven per cent of the subjects were living with their parents, 16.3 per cent with relatives and 15 per cent with friends. Ninety nine per cent of the subjects had received information on HIV/AIDS before enrollment to this study. The source of knowledge ranged from television (89.1%), teachers (81.6%), pamphlets (80.2%), newspapers (75%), radio (55%), health care workers (53.4%), friends (38.6%) and only 32.5 per cent from their parents. The subjects' knowledge about HIV/AIDS and risk factors in the post-test questionnaire was significantly increased (P < 0.001) from the pre-test status. However, their attitudes to an HIV infected person were not significantly changed in the post-test questionnaire: only the "attending school" question showed significantly (P < 0.05) increased numbers of agreement. Similarly, the attitudes and practices to prevent HIV infection were not significantly (P > 0.05) different between pre-test and post-test questionnaires. The result of this study is to recommend regular school-based programs of education to increase awareness of preventive strategies for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.

Immunological and clinical evaluation during a 12 month period of immunotherapy.

Serum IgE and IgG4 were evaluated in twenty adult allergic rhinitis subjects during a 12-month immunotherapy (IT) course against common inhalant allergens. The selection criteria for IT were the result of a prolonged history of allergic diseases and a positive skin test for common inhalant allergens. Twenty non-atopic adults served as the control group. By using enzyme-linked immunoassay a normal range of IgE and IgG4 were 78 +/- 40 IU/ml and 180 +/- 54 micrograms/ml, respectively. The changes in IgE and IgG4 levels were compared with significant improvements of symptoms and drug consumption. The clinical and laboratory responses to IT were considered good in 8 cases (40%), moderate in 7 cases (35%), and poor in the remaining 5 cases (25%). A regression analysis revealed a negative simple linear correlation between elevated level of IgG4 and diminished level of clinical symptom scores during 12 months of IT (Pearson's r = -0.7548). The serum IgG4 level after one year IT predicted change in clinical symptom scores.

The behavior of transfused platelets in dengue hemorrhagic fever.

The transfusion of platelet concentrate has been proved as a valuable clinical procedure in the management of bleeding in dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). This paper described the behavior of transfused platelets as platelet response and platelet increment in DHF patients with and without shock. Fifteen patients with DHF were studied, aged 2 to 12 years old. All had bleeding manifestation, ie GI, skin, nose or gum. Fresh human platelet concentrate was transfused to 5 non-shock cases and 10 shock cases with different dosages as the low dose (0.15-0.23 U/kg) and high dose (0.28-0.46 U/kg). The cessation of active bleeding was noted by clinical observation or hematocrit determination. The degree of elevation of the circulating platelets tended to vary inversely to the degree of shock and directly to the amounts of platelets infused. The survival of transfused platelets was very short in shock cases, about few hours to one day. This may be due to many factors: platelet plug to injured vessels, immune complex reaction, trapping of platelets to the poor circulation area, rapid utilization and destruction of platelets by injured vessels or virus and slow circulation promoting platelet adhesion.

Burkitt's lymphoma in Thai children: an analysis of 25 cases.

Twenty five cases of Burkitt's lymphoma in Thai children were diagnosed at the Department of Pediatrics, Siriraj Hospital during the period of 13 years (January 1969 to April 1982). Males were more affected than females with the ratio of 1.7:1. The age ranged from 2 to 11 years with the median age of 4-5 years. The most common clinical manifestations were abdominal mass associated with nausea vomiting, abdominal pain, anorexia, weight loss and generalized lymphadenopathy which occurred in 50-60% of cases. Additional symptoms and signs included anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, edema and pleural effusion. Jaw tumor was found in only 37.5% of the patients. Definite diagnosis depended on the characteristic starry sky appearance of the lymph node biopsy or section of abdominal mass. In advance cases, the tumor cells could be discovered in bone marrow aspiration, ascitic fluid pleural fluid and cerebrospinal fluid. The typical blast cells were detected in the peripheral blood in 4 cases. Antibody to Epstein-Barr virus could be detected in almost all cases with high titers in some cases. Most patients responded very well to local irradiation and chemotherapy with prednisolone plus cyclophosphamide and vincristine or methotrexate. However, relapse occurred rapidly and 80% of the patients died within 3 months after diagnosis with the median survival of only 1 month. Five cases expired early before any specific treatment. The main causes of death were disease, sepsis, excessive bleeding and hyperkalemia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Transient, acquired glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in Thai children with typhoid fever.

Seventy nine children with typhoid fever were studied, 45 were males and 34 were females. There were 9 out of 45 males patients (20%) who had definite G-6-PD deficiency of whom 3 had acute intravascular hemolysis. The rest of the patients had transient low enzyme activity during the first few weeks of their illness, with reticulocytopenia. Their G-6-PD activities rose up to normal level later in the course of the disease while the reticulocytes were also increased. This study demonstrated that even in normal G-6-PD subjects, typhoid fever can cause transient, acquired low G-6-PD level due to bone marrow suppression. It was suggested from this study that quantitative G-6-PD assay was more useful and sensitive than the screening method and that long term follow up is needed in the case that had unexplained low G-6-PD activity.

Niemann-Pick disease in association with homozygous hemoglobin E: a case report.

The first case of Niemann-Pick disease Type A in a Thai infant was reported. The patient also had abnormal hemoglobin E. The diagnosis was based on the clinical features, bone marrow findings and sphingomyelinase levels in the culture of skin fibroblasts. The autosomal recessive mode of inheritance was confirmed in this case.