Renal function in obstructive jaundice in man: cholangiocarcinoma model

Renal function with respect to water clearance and renal hemodynamics was studied in 15 patients with obstructive jaundice due to cholangiocarcinoma. The results were compared with those of the control normal subjects. There was no change in renal function in the patients with mild to moderate jaundice, with total serum bilirubin from 8.0 to 15.1 mg/dl. Increased urinary sodium excretion and decreased free water and negative water clearances were observed in the patients with severe jaundice with total serum bilirubin from 27.0 to 40.4 mg/dl and normal serum albumin. Renal blood flow was normal, but creatinine clearance was decreased. In severely jaundiced patients with serum bilirubin from 30.5 to 40.1 mg/dl and hypoalbuminemia urinary sodium excretion, free water clearance, negative water clearance, renal blood flow and creatinine clearance were decreased. There was salt and water retention in this group. The findings suggest that in severe jaundice there is inhibition of sodium chloride reabsorption in the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop. ADH and increased hydraulic conductivity of the collecting tubules possibly contribute to decreased free water clearance. In severely jaundiced patients with hypoalbuminemia this salt losing effect is converted to salt retention by increased proximal tubular reabsorption of sodium.     

Intention of private hospitals to become contractors in the prepaid social security scheme in Thailand: why and why not?

The objective of the study was to examine whether private hospitals wanted be main contractors (MCs) under the social security scheme. Data were obtained from a cross-sectional survey of 94 private hospitals in Bangkok and its vicinity area conducted between August 1995 and May 1996 using in-person interview and hospital survey forms. The overall response rate was 88.3%. The results showed that some 46 hospitals (55%) expressed their intention to become MCs. However, nearly 40% of MCs in 1995 indicated that they really did not want to join the scheme while several non-MC hospitals said that they wanted to participate. The most prevalent justifications for the intention of the hospitals to become MCs, or not, were operational and marketing-related in nature. While the scheme was considered a profitable market opportunity by many, it affected hospital positioning. Participation in the scheme might also complicate health services delivery. Whether private hospitals wanted, or did not want, to become MCs was associated with ownership status (p = 0.001) and leading competitive strategies of the hospitals (p = 0.041).     

Effect of physiologic concentration of lactose on prevention of postweaning decline of intestinal lactase

Postweaning decline of intestinal lactase activity due to decreasing substrate concentration was investigated in this study, using litters of rats maintained on either a control (8% dextrose) or lactose-enriched diet (8% lactose). The 8% lactose was used because this supplies the same amount of calories as the lactose in the maternal milk of rats. The rats were sacrificed at 3, 4, 5, 8, 12 and 16 weeks, to establish a continuum of activity. Assay of lactase activity in mucosa from the jejunal and ileal segment in these rats failed to reveal any significant difference in either lactase, sucrase or maltase activity, regardless of whether the activities were expressed in terms of the whole intestine, per gram of intestine, or per 100 g of body weight. These results do not support the theory that postweaning decline of intestinal lactase reflects only a decreasing amount of substrate in the diet.     

Situation analysis of occupational and environmental health laboratory accreditation in Thailand

The objective of this study was to analyze the current situation of laboratory accreditation (LA) in Thailand, especially on occupational and environmental health. The study integrated both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The response rate of the quantitative questionnaires was 54.5% (226/415). The majority of the responders was environmental laboratories located outside hospital and did not have proficiency testing. The majority used ISO 9000, ISO/IEC 17025 or ISO/ EEC Guide 25, and hospital accreditation (HA) as their quality system. However, only 30 laboratories were currently accredited by one of these systems. Qualitative research revealed that international standard for laboratory accreditation for both testing laboratory and calibration laboratory was ISO/IEC Guide 25, which has been currently revised to be ISO/IEC 17025. The National Accreditation Council (NAC) has authorized 2 organizations as Accreditation Bodies (ABs) for LA: Thai Industrial Standards Institute, Ministry of Industry, and Bureau of Laboratory Quality Standards, Department of Medical Sciences, Ministry of Public Health. Regarding LA in HA, HA considered clinical laboratory as only 1 of 31 items for accreditation. Obtaining HA might satisfy the hospital director and his management team, and hence might actually be one of the obstacles for the hospital to further improve their laboratory quality system and apply for ISO/IEC 17025 which was more technically oriented. On the other hand, HA may be viewed as a good start or even a pre-requisite for laboratories in the hospitals to further improve their quality towards ISO/IEC 17025. Interviewing the director of NAC and some key men in some large laboratories revealed several major problems of Thailand's LA. Both Thai Industrial Standards Institute and Bureau of Laboratory Quality Standards did not yet obtain Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with other international ABs. Several governmental bodies had their own standards and accreditation systems, and did not accept other bodies' standards and systems. This put a burden to private laboratories because they had to apply and get accredited from several governmental bodies, but still had to apply and get accredited from international ABs especially for those dealing with exports. There were only few calibration laboratories, not enough for supporting the calibration required for the equipment in testing laboratories' LA. Purchasing proficiency testing specimens from abroad was very expensive, and often got into troubles with the customs duty procedures. The authors recommend some strategies and activities to improve laboratory accreditation in Thailand. Improvement in occupational and environmental health laboratories would essentially be beneficial to laboratory accreditation of other areas such as clinical laboratory.     

Comparison of health care professionals' and surveyors' opinions on problems and obstacles in implementing quality management system in Thailand: A national survey.

OBJECTIVE: To explore problems and obstacles of hospitals in Thailand implementing quality management systems according to the hospital accreditation (HA) standards. DESIGN: Questionnaire survey. SETTING: Thirty-nine hospitals in all 13 regions of Thailand. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 728 health care professionals and 41 surveyors of the national accreditation program. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Health care professionals' and surveyors' opinions on problems and obstacles in 24 items representing Thailand HA standards. RESULTS: The response rates were 94.9 and 73.2% in health care professionals and surveyors, respectively. More than 90% of both groups thought that there had been problems in the items such as 'quality improvement (QI) activities' and 'integration and utilization of information'. The items considered by health care professionals as major obstacles included 'adequacy of staff' (34.6%) and 'integration and utilization of information' (26.6%), for example. For surveyors, 'integration and utilization of information' was ranked highest as presenting a major obstacle (43.9%), followed by 'discharge and referral process' (31.7%) and 'medical recording process' (29.3%). The rank orders for the 24 items as problems and major obstacles were similar in both groups (Spearman's rank correlation 0.436, P = 0.033 and 0.583, P = 0.003, respectively). Surveyors had a higher degree of concern and paid more attention to care-related items than health care professionals. CONCLUSIONS: Health care professionals have been facing many problems with multidisciplinary process-related issues of the accreditation standard, whereas surveyors might have had some difficulties in conveying the core QI concepts to them. The findings might be explained by the effects of health care reform on the underlying accreditation principles. One of the strategies to respond to the situation was presented.     

Cost-benefit analysis of hepatitis a vaccination in Thailand

We constructed a decision model to simulate costs and benefits for persons in the context of hepatitis A prevention. Three strategies were compared: i) no intervention; ii) vaccination against hepatitis A without screening; iii) vaccination against hepatitis A for those susceptible after screening for anti-HAV. We divided the population into 3 age groups : 3-11 years, 12-18 years and 19-40 years. Data regarding the cost of treatment and vaccination were obtained from the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. Relevant probabilities were obtained from published literature and expert opinion. At the present incidence of hepatitis A infection, in all age groups examined, the net benefits of a universal no-intervention strategy were higher than those of either vaccination (intervention) strategy. The cost of vaccination without screening in the 3-11-year and 12-18-year groups would equal the benefit if the incidence rates amounted to approximately 138 and 212 infected individuals per 100,000, respectively, that of vaccination with screening at incidence rates of about 200 and 260 infected persons per 100,000, respectively. In the 19-40-year group, the cost incurred by vaccination either with or without screening would equal the benefit at an incidence rate above 450 infected individual per 100,000. For the benefits to outweigh the estimated vaccination costs at present the vaccine is still too expensive. The cost of vaccination without screening in the 3-11-year group would equal the benefit if the cost of vaccine was about 586 baht/2 doses (293 baht/dose), and about 500 baht/2 doses (250 baht/dose) in the 12-18-year group. Likewise, because of the cost of vaccine, it would not be cost-beneficial in the 19-40-year group both with and without screening, and neither would it be in the 3-11-year and 12-18-year groups including screening. According to current standards, under the conditions of the present study the benefit of hepatitis A vaccination administered to the general population between the age of 3 and 40 years in Thailand does not justify the expenses incurred. Major changes in hepatitis A incidence, anti-HAV seroprevalence, vaccine cost or the treatment outcome would be required to potentially render either intervention strategy cost beneficial.     

A multicenter study of verapamil in systemic hypertension in Thailand

The antihypertensive effect and possible adverse effects of verapamil were assessed in 30 Thai patients with mild to moderate hypertension. All patients had normal blood chemistry evaluations and electrocardiograms. After a 4-week placebo period, 80 mg of verapamil was given 2 times a day for 8 weeks. Blood pressure and pulse rate were recorded both in supine and standing positions every 2 weeks. Verapamil decreased blood pressure significantly both in supine and standing positions. The pulse rate was not significantly affected. The most common adverse effect was constipation. No vivid dreams or breathlessness were reported. The blood chemistry and electrocardiograms at the end of the study period were not significantly changed. It is concluded that verapamil reduces blood pressure in mild to moderate hypertensive Thai patients.