Unsafe condoms and other unsafe sex accessories

Condoms remain the sole effective method of prevention of HIV. However, in some places--including Cambodia and China--condoms have been modified to add so-called pearls, hard rubber studs or even bristles that are painful and dangerous to the receptive partner, causing injury to the vagina and anus. Such injuries contribute to the transmission of disease, so these condoms are not useful for prevention of STIs or HIV. In addition to unsafe condoms, accessories such as the "tiger's moustache" penis ring have bristles and are as dangerous in the same way as unsafe condoms. Public health officials have outlawed the sale of unsafe condoms in Thailand, a step that should be taken in all places where both they and other unsafe accessories are available.     

Measuring corneal power for intraocular lens power calculation after refractive surgery. Comparison of methods

PURPOSE: To find a more accurate and predictable method for intraocular lens (IOL) power calculation in eyes after refractive surgery. SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, Seoul, Korea. METHODS: The accuracy of the following methods for calculating IOL power in 132 eyes after PRK or LASIK was compared: manual keratometry, hard contact lens, refraction-derived keratometry at the corneal plane, and the refraction-derived keratometry at the spectacle plane. Based on this comparison, the IOL power was calculated in the 2 eyes of a patient using refraction-derived keratometry at the spectacle plane with the SRK II formula. Cataract surgery with IOL implantation was then performed. RESULTS: The largest corneal power values were obtained using a manual keratometer and the smallest using refraction-derived keratometry at the spectacle plane (P <.001). In the patient having cataract surgery with IOL implantation, near target refraction was achieved with minimal error in IOL power. CONCLUSIONS: If the corneal power is known before refractive surgery, the use of the smallest value of those obtained using refraction-derived keratometry and the hard contact lens method is recommended. However, if the corneal power before refractive surgery is unknown, the use of the hard contact lens method is recommended.     

A brief neuropsychological testing battery for evaluating patients with schizophrenia

Current conceptualizations of schizophrenia include neurocognitive impairment, particularly in aspects of attention, memory, and executive functioning. Evaluation of these cognitive abilities typically involves use of comprehensive batteries which may take up to six hours to complete. The current study examined the effectiveness of a briefer battery to detect cognitive impairments usually seen in schizophrenia as established by previous studies using more lengthy and labor intensive protocols. The current study involved 61 outpatients with schizophrenia who were separated into three subgroups: paranoid type (n = 20), undifferentiated type (n = 21), and schizoaffective (n = 20). The majority of the patients were male (61%), African-American (52%), and of low socio-economic status. The mean age was 41.4 years (SD = 8.8), and the mean years of education was 11.7 (SD = 6.8). For the overall sample, results revealed mild to moderate impairments in memory, construction, concept formation, response set maintenance, psychomotor speed, and visual speed of information processing. Post-hoc analyses revealed significant differences between subgroups on Similarities and psychomotor speed, with the undifferentiated group performing more poorly than the paranoid or schizoaffective groups. In conclusion, the current brief battery minimized respondent burden in terms of both time demands and level of task complexity. However, it was also sensitive enough to capture many of the same cognitive weaknesses as those reported when using more labor-intensive neuropsychological test protocols.     

Spontaneous external biliary fistula: a rare complication of cholangiocarcinoma

A 68-year-old woman presented with yellowish discharge oozing from a fistula opening in the upper epigastric area that had persisted for one month prior to her visit. The patient had undergone a left lateral segmentectomy of the liver ten years prior for treatment of intrahepatic duct (IHD) stones. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan showed focal stricture and proximal dilatation of remnant IHD and a 1 cm-sized rim-enhancing lesion located under the surgical bed of the abdominal wall surrounding the dilated remnant IHD. Despite conservative management including nasobiliary drainage, no further improvement was anticipated. Partial hepatectomy and fistulectomy were performed for pathologic diagnosis and treatment of the enhancing lesion. Histopathology revealed adenocarcinoma. In this case, cholangiocarcinoma might have arisen in association with IHD stones and then developed a choledocho-cutaneous fistula as a clinical manifestation.     

Case of Small Bowel Perforation due to Enteropathy-Type T-Cell Lymphoma

Enteropathy-type T-cell lymphoma (ETTL) is a rare disease with a poor prognosis. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification, it is a subtype of the peripheral T-cell lymphomas. This disease is associated with gluten-sensitive enteropathy, has a high risk of intestinal perforation and obstruction, and is refractory to chemotherapeutic treatment. We report the case of a 73-year-old woman who was diagnosed with enteropathy-type T-cell lymphoma of the small intestine, which was positive for the markers of cytotoxic T cells, CD3, CD8, and CD56, on immunohistochemical staining after resection of the perforated terminal ileum.