Vitamin C deficiency in a picky eater child.

Vitamin C deficiency or scurvy is an uncommon condition that occurs in poorly developed countries or in refugee camps. Nonetheless, in countries where food is readily available, like Malaysia, occasionally there are cases of vitamin C deficiency reported. Although it was primarily reported in children with special needs or learning disability, scurvy is encountered in children with normal development, among the severe picky eaters. We present here case of a nine-year-old picky-eating boy with scurvy. The development of scurvy in this child took several years, especially after he became a very selective eater at the age of five. The child had displayed limping when walking with knee-joint pain before he came to a primary hospital. However, his condition was not diagnosed promptly and progressively worsened until he was unable to walk. Thus, it is crucial to recognize scurvy in children who limps and are severe picky eaters.

A comparison between Laryngeal Tube Suction II Airway and Proseal Laryngeal Mask Airway in laparascopic surgery.

This was a prospective randomized study comparing the ease of insertion, haemodynamic changes, quality of airway seal, oxygenation and ventilation parameters and complications between Laryngeal Tube Suction II (LTS II) with Proseal Laryngeal Mask Airway (PLMA), both are supraglottic airway incorporated with gastric passage. Fifty-four ASA I and II patients were randomly allocated to receive either LTS II or PLMA. Both devices provided a secure airway even under conditions of elevated intra-abdominal pressure up to 17 mmHg. In this study, there were no differences concerning ease of insertion, haemodynamic changes, quality of airway seal, oxygenation and ventilation parameters and complications between LTS II and PLMA.

Cost control under the DRG system.

The change in the method of reimbursing hospitals from a retrospective to a prospective payment system known as diagnosis-related group (DRG) caused hospitals to increase control over their costs. This article details a system for cost control that gives timely feedback on the hospital's reimbursement position and allows the hospital to recognize areas that require their attention for proper control over costs. Three variances are discussed: controllable variance, standard variance, and total variance. The system was tested on a hospital found to have enough information for this purpose. The results of this application indicate that the system is as feasible in the hospital industry as it is in other industries.