A comparative analysis of avoidable causes of childhood blindness in Malaysia with low income, middle income and high income countries.

To determine the avoidable causes of childhood blindness in Malaysia and to compare this to other middle income countries, low income countries and high income countries. Data were obtained from a school of the blind study by Patel et al. and analysed for avoidable causes of childhood blindness. Six other studies with previously published data on childhood blindness in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Indonesia, China and the United Kingdom were reviewed for avoidable causes. Comparisons of data and limitations of the studies are described. Prevalence of avoidable causes of childhood blindness in Malaysia is 50.5 % of all the cases of childhood blindness, whilst in the poor income countries such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Indonesia, the prevalence was in excess of 60 %. China had a low prevalence, but this is largely due to the fact that most schools were urban, and thus did not represent the situation of the country. High income countries had the lowest prevalence of avoidable childhood blindness. In middle income countries, such as Malaysia, cataract and retinopathy of prematurity are the main causes of avoidable childhood blindness. Low income countries continue to struggle with infections such as measles and nutritional deficiencies, such as vitamin A, both of which are the main contributors to childhood blindness. In high income countries, such as the United Kingdom, these problems are almost non-existent.

The prevalence of tongue lesions in Malaysian dental outpatients from the Klang Valley area.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of tongue lesions in Malaysian dental outpatients from the Klang Valley area. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted on 600 Malaysian outpatients (257 men, 343 women, mean age, 37.7 years) attending the Primary Dental Care Unit at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya. Demographic and medical data were recorded for all respondents. RESULTS: One hundred eighty-one patients (30.2%) (81 men, 100 women, mean age 42.0 years) were diagnosed with at least one tongue lesion (n = 207) at the time of examination. Of these, 24 patients (4%) had two or more tongue lesions present synchronously. Seven different lesions were diagnosed: fissured tongue (13.8%), crenated tongue (7.8%), pigmented tongue (6.2%), geographic tongue (2.2%), ankyloglossia (1.7%), hairy tongue (1.0%) and median rhomboid glossitis (0.2%). Their racial prevalences were Malays (n = 65, 10.8%), Indians (n = 62, 10.3%), Chinese (n = 53, 8.8%) and other race (n = 1, 0.2%). A significant relationship was observed between crenated tongue and race; between four types of tongue lesions (fissured tongue, geographic tongue, crenated tongue and pigmented tongue) and age; and between fissured tongue and gender (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Distribution characteristics of tongue lesions in Malaysians are important as local reference data in the daily clinical practice.

Orbital myxoma--an unusual cause of inferoorbital mass.

UNLABELLED: To describe a case of isolated infraorbital mass which had been present for the past 9 years in a young woman. Despite the size, the mass was successfully excised in total. METHOD: Case report. RESULT: Histologically, the tumour was found to be an isolated orbital myxoma. CONCLUSION: Isolated orbital myxoma is an exceedingly rare tumour of the orbit. The case shows the lesion could be excised in its entirety with good cosmetic result.