A case of oral myiasis due to Chrysomya bezziana.

Chrysomya bezziana is a causative agent of obligatory myiasis. We report the first case of human infestation of Chrysomya bezziana in Hong Kong in an 89-year-old woman who had previously had a stroke. One day after hospital admission for fever, a small fissure at the labial gingiva of the upper incisors and several ulcerative lesions at the hard palate were noticed during routine mouth care. A live maggot was seen protruding from the small fissure. In the following few days, a total of seven maggots were removed by forceps. Urgent computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the oral cavity showed an ulcerative soft-tissue lesion over the anterior palate, with a fistula communicating to the labial gingiva. The tissue loss was limited to the bony margin of the hard palate. The infestation was managed by manual removal of maggots and surgical debridement. Medical personnel taking care of old or debilitated patients need to bear in mind the possibility of Chrysomya bezziana infestation to be able to make a prompt diagnosis and implement relevant intervention to prevent extensive tissue destruction.

A study of the comparative efficacy of three common analgesics in the control of pain after third molar surgery under local anaesthesia.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the comparative efficacy of three commonly used analgesics (Panadeine, Diflunisal and Etodolac) in the control of pain after third molar surgery under local anaesthesia. METHODS: A randomized control study. Outcome of primary efficacy was judged by overall assessment of the area under the curve of graphs for pain intensity, measured from serial visual analogue scales over a 24-hour period. Other measures of efficacy included the number (per cent) of patients who took 'additional' analgesics and the incidence of adverse effects occurring in each treatment group over the study period. RESULTS: The three drugs were effective in the control of post-operative pain (p<0.01). Variations in pain intensity and the use of additional medication between the treatment groups were observed over the study period. The Diflunisal group experienced less pain than the Panadeine or Etodolac group (p<0.01). Furthermore, a lesser number of those in the Diflunisal group used additional medication compared to the other two groups (p<0.01). The incidence of side effects from all three drugs was low. CONCLUSION: Diflunisal is superior in the control of pain following third molar surgery under local anaesthesia than either Panadeine or Etodolac, and has few side effects.