ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Exotic pets are increasingly popular in Hong Kong and include fish, amphibians, reptiles, and arthropods. Some of these exotic animals are venomous and may cause injuries to and envenomation of their owners. The clinical experience of emergency physicians in the management of injuries and envenomation by these exotic animals is limited. We reviewed the clinical features and outcomes of injuries and envenomation by exotic pets recorded by the Hong Kong Poison Information Centre. METHODS: We retrospectively retrieved and reviewed cases of injuries and envenomation by exotic pets recorded by the Hong Kong Poison Information Centre from 1 July 2008 to 31 March 2017. RESULTS: There were 15 reported cases of injuries and envenomation by exotic pets during the study period, including snakebite (n=6), fish sting (n=4), scorpion sting (n=2), lizard bite (n=2), and turtle bite (n=1). There were two cases of major effects from the envenomation, seven cases with moderate effects, and six cases with mild effects. All major effects were related to venomous snakebites. There were no mortalities. CONCLUSION: All human injuries from exotic pets arose from reptiles, scorpions, and fish. All cases of major envenomation were inflicted by snakes.
Subject(s)
Animals, Exotic , Bites and Stings/epidemiology , Bites and Stings/etiology , Wounds and Injuries/epidemiology , Wounds and Injuries/etiology , Adolescent , Adult , Animals , Bites and Stings/prevention & control , Female , Fishes , Hong Kong/epidemiology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Poison Control Centers/statistics & numerical data , Retrospective Studies , Scorpions , Snakes , Wounds and Injuries/prevention & control , Young AdultABSTRACT
Community-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus is an emerging cause of skin and soft tissue infections in Hong Kong, especially among certain ethnic minorities.
Subject(s)
Community-Acquired Infections/epidemiology , Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/isolation & purification , Soft Tissue Infections/epidemiology , Staphylococcal Skin Infections/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Bacterial Toxins/genetics , Bacterial Typing Techniques , Child , Child, Preschool , Community-Acquired Infections/microbiology , Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field , Exotoxins/genetics , Female , Hong Kong/epidemiology , Humans , Leukocidins/genetics , Male , Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/genetics , Middle Aged , Risk Factors , Soft Tissue Infections/microbiology , Staphylococcal Skin Infections/microbiology , Young AdultSubject(s)
Quality of Life , Social Support , Suicide, Assisted , Disabled Persons/psychology , Humans , Terminology as TopicABSTRACT
Though psychogeriatrics is becoming a word of common usage, it is not a word of common meaning. This is a consequence of the lack of a generally accepted theoretical model regarding the complex and multiple pathology of the psychiatric disturbances of older people. On epistemological grounds the author stresses the necessity of a common theoretical concept and as such introduces the General System Theory. The systems approach then shows that the word 'psychogeriatrics' is rooted in a reductionistic concept of man. In order to avoid this the author prefers 'psychiatry of old age' to cover the broad field of the psychiatric disturbances of the elderly.
Subject(s)
Attitude of Health Personnel , Geriatric Psychiatry , Systems Theory , Aged , Humans , Mental Disorders/therapy , Mental Processes , Terminology as TopicABSTRACT
The Hess effect, a monocular, latency-based illusion in which the more intensely illuminated of a pair of laterally-moving targets appears displaced ahead of the other, was studied with white targets on black background at scotopic and photopic levels. The magnitude of the Hess effect was about the same as that of the Pulfrich effect under similar photopic conditions. Reaction time declined more rapidly with increasing stimulus intensity than would have been predicted either by the Hess or the Pulfrich effect. Theoretical time-constants, computed for the Hess effect by assuming a first-order diffusion process followed by a more central non-linearity (temporal centroid), ranged between 0.145 and 0.165 sec for three observers.
Subject(s)
Illusions/physiology , Light , Optical Illusions/physiology , Reaction Time/physiology , Dark Adaptation , Female , Humans , Male , Motion Perception/physiologyABSTRACT
Correlated experiments on visual reaction time (RT) and visual evoked cortical potentials (VECP's) were performed to assess the effects of illumination level of steady annulus surrounds on the latency of response to centrally presented target flashes (1 and 3 degrees in diameter) over a wide range of retinal illuminances. The latencies of the electrophysiological (VECP) responses are more variable than those of the psychophysical RT responses. For both classes of response, the visual latency for a given target flash luminance is systematically increased (inhibited) by a spatially contiguous annulus with a retinal illuminance that equals or exceeds that of the target. The inhibitory effect of a given annulus increases progressively as the target retinal illuminance is lowered below that of the annulus. The corresponding RT and VECP curves have the same shape, thus suggesting that the motor component of the RT responses is not differentially influenced by variations in target illumination. The inhibitory effects are characteristically greater for the 3 degrees target than for the 1 degree target. Lateral neural inhibition and stray-light models for these data are considered.
