A multicenter study on hip fractures in Thailand.

The present study is a multicenter study on hip fractures aimed at estimating the incidence among Thais. It also describes treatment modalities, associated medical care costs, complications, outcome of orthopedic care, length of stay in hospitals and duration of delay in seeking orthopedic care after occurrence of fractures. An extremely low hip fracture incidence of 7.05 per 100,000 population was found. Hip fracture was shown to increase steeply with age. An average of 26.44 days of delay in seeking orthopedic care following occurrence of hip fractures was reported. In contrast to the belief in Western countries that almost all hip fractures will seek orthopedic care, 7.8 per cent of these Thai cases denied orthopedic care during admission to hospitals. Median of charge to patients was 11205.00 baht, over one fourth of the national income per capita (36,563).

Precaution against nosocomial spread of cholera in Udornthanee Hospital.

From February to April 1988, there was an outbreak of cholera in Udornthanee Province. One hundred and twenty-four culture-documented cases were admitted into Udornthanee Hospital. Prevention of nosocomial spread of V. cholerae was done by the implementation of proper practices, surveillance culture and routine surveillance. There was no nosocomial spread of V. cholerae to patients or medical personnel. It was also shown that these practices were effective in prevention of contamination of the environment. It is concluded that simple measures are effective in the prevention of spread of V. cholerae in health care settings.