Changing prevalence and knowledge of urinary incontinence among Hong Kong Chinese women

A territory-wide telephone survey was conducted in Hong Kong to assess the prevalence, knowledge, and treatment-seeking behaviour of Chinese women with urinary incontinence, using validated Chinese version of Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6) and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7). Women, 540, aged between 17 to 77 years were interviewed. Of the respondents, 40.8% reported stress urinary incontinence, 20.4% had urge incontinence and 15.9% had mixed incontinence. Among these, 16.0% reported quality of life impairment; 9.3% felt frustrated with low morale, and 15.2% had nervous and anxiety problems. However, as many as 78.3% of the respondents did not know that stress urinary incontinence is a disease entity, and 60.6% thought that leakage of urine was a normal aging process. For those respondents having stress urinary incontinence, the first treatment of choice was physiotherapy. The second choice was medication, and surgical treatment was the last option. Respondents with stress urinary incontinence showed higher education level.     

Perforated colorectal neoplasms: correlation of clinical, contrast enema, and CT examinations

Results of clinical, contrast enema (CE), and computed tomographic (CT) examinations in 39 patients with perforated colorectal neoplasms were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty patients were toxemic at initial presentation, but in only four patients was the diagnosis of perforated colorectal neoplasm initially suspected clinically. CE study was performed in 22 patients and enabled the diagnosis of perforated neoplasm in 11 cases, neoplasm alone in eight, and neither neoplasm nor perforation in three. CT was performed in 38 patients and enabled the diagnosis of perforated neoplasm in 36; pericolic phlegmon but no mass lesion was evident in two. In 16 patients, CT also demonstrated metastatic disease. Because of its reliability in establishing the diagnosis and staging the extent of the inflammatory and neoplastic disease, CT is indicated in cases of suspected or proved perforated colorectal neoplasm and in cases in which CE study findings are indeterminate or suggestive of perforated neoplasm.     

Double-bundle technique: Endoscopic posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using tibialis posterior allograft

Recently, attention has been given to the double-bundle technique for treating the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL)-deficient knee. We present an arthroscopic PCL reconstruction using a double-bundle technique with 3-stranded tibialis posterior (TP) allograft that has not been described before. The anterolateral bundle of the PCL is reconstructed using 2-stranded TP allograft and the posteromedial bundle using 1-stranded TP allograft. Three-stranded TP allograft will be an alternative graft choice for PCL reconstruction.     

Frequent ongoing T-cell receptor rearrangements in childhood B- precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia: implications for monitoring minimal residual disease

Crosslineage T-cell receptor delta (TCR delta) rearrangements are widely used as tumor markers for the follow up of minimal residual disease in childhood B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The major drawback of this approach is the risk of false-negative results due to clonal evolution. We investigated the stability of V delta 2D delta 3 rearrangements in a group of 56 childhood B-precursor ALL patients by PCR and Southern blot analysis. At the PCR level, V delta 2D delta 3-to-J alpha rearranged subclones (one pathway for secondary TCR delta recombination) were demonstrated in 85.2% of V delta 2D delta 3-positive patients tested, which showed that small subclones are present in the large majority of patients despite apparently monoclonal TCR delta Southern blot patterns. Sequence analysis of V delta 2D delta 3J alpha rearrangements showed a biased J alpha gene usage, with HAPO5 and J alpha F in 26 of 32 and 6 of 32 clones, respectively. Comparison of V delta 2D delta 3 rearrangement status between diagnosis and first relapse showed differences in seven of eight patients studied. In contrast, from first relapse onward, no clonal changes were observed in six patients studied. To investigate the occurrence of crosslineage TCR delta rearrangements in normal B and T cells, fluorescence-activated cell sorter-sorted peripheral blood CD19+/CD3- and CD19-/CD3+ cell populations from three healthy donors were analyzed. V delta 2D delta 3 rearrangements were detected at low frequencies in both B and T cells, which suggests that V delta 2-to-D delta 3 joining also occurs during normal B-cell differentiation. A model for crosslineage TCR delta rearrangements in B-precursor ALL is deduced that explains the observed clonal changes between diagnosis and relapse and is compatible with multistep leukemogenesis of B-precursor ALL.     

A SLAP lesion associated with calcific tendinitis of the long head of the biceps brachii at its origin

Calcific tendinitis is a common condition with characteristic clinical and radiological findings. Although we do not know which condition initiated the pathologic cascade, we present a rare case of calcific tendinitis of the long head of the biceps brachii at its origin, associated with a SLAP lesion. The calcium deposit was removed and the SLAP lesion was repaired with a suture anchor arthroscopically.