Current Issue

Volume 54, Number 3 March 2025

Radiofrequency ablation may be an effective and safe alternative treatment choice to treat papillary thyroid carcinoma, particularly for patients with comorbidities who are not surgical candidates.

Featured

Machine learning to risk stratify chest pain patients with non-diagnostic electrocardiogram in an Asian emergency department

Risk stratification of patients presenting with chest pain poses a frequent, often difficult, challenge to the emergency physician. Cardiac biomarkers such as troponin are an important part of the evaluation of the patient suspected of having acute coronary syndrome...

Clinical and echocardiographic differences between rheumatic and degenerative mitral stenosis

Mitral stenosis (MS) commonly arises from either rheumatic heart disease or a degenerative calcification of the mitral valve (MV) apparatus.1 Rheumatic heart disease is overall the leading cause of valvular heart disease in the developing world, and rheumatic MS...

Pregnancy-associated breast cancer: Management of the mother, fetus and tumour

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer affecting females worldwide, accounting for more than 50% of cancers in young females.1 It occurs in 1 in 3000–10,000 pregnancies, with reported incidence rising with delayed childbearing.2 The age standardised incidence...

A person-centred approach to decision-making and care for persons living with dementia

Assessing mental capacity in persons living with dementia (PLWDs) in high-stakes decision-making is becoming more frequent amid an ageing population with a rising prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia. A study estimated that the population of PLWDs globally will...

Health-related quality of life in Singapore: Population norms for the EQ-5D-5L and EORTC QLQ-C30

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a multidimensional assessment of the impact of disease and treatment on physical, psychological and social aspects of individuals’ lives.1,2 HRQOL is an important outcome measure of healthcare interventions that is increasingly used in...

iPARTY study: Increasing pre-exposure prophylaxis access and reach via telehealth for young men who have sex with men in Singapore 2022–2023

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection remains a significant global health challenge worldwide, with 39 million people living with HIV as of 2022.1 In Singapore, there were 209 newly diagnosed cases of HIV infections in 2023, a 3% increase from...

The efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation in papillary thyroid carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Malignant nodules account for 5–15% of all thyroid nodules and papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) accounts for 85% of that.10 Most guidelines recommend surgery as the first-line treatment for PTC.11 However, surgery does carry a risk for complications, such as...

Premature ovarian insufficiency: When ovaries retire early

Illustration by LadyFingers Co. Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI, also known as primary ovarian insufficiency) refers to loss of ovarian activity before the age of 40 years, leading to hypergonadotropic hypoestrogenism and 4 months or more of menstrual disturbance.1 In ovarian...

Mechanisms and roles of hydroxychloroquine in pregnancy in rheumatic diseases

With the prevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) around the world, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has once again come into public attention due to its potential therapeutic role in COVID-19. HCQ is a classic antimalarial drug that belongs...

Prevalence of complexity in primary care and its associated factors: A Singapore experience

As Singapore’s population ages, the incidence of non-communicable chronic diseases will rise in tandem.1 There exists a subset of individuals, oftentimes elderly with multiple chronic conditions, whose care needs are particularly complex.2 While there is no universal definition of...

Adolescent self-harm and suicide attempts: An analysis of emergency department presentations in Singapore

Within 3 years from 2019 to 2021, adolescent suicide rates in Singapore almost doubled from 5.35 to 9.14 per 100,000 population.1,2 This is against a backdrop of a silently brewing adolescent behavioural and mental health crisis locally and globally,...

Development and validation of the sarcopenia composite index: A comprehensive approach for assessing sarcopenia in the ageing population

The screening process for sarcopenia typically begins with tests of grip strength and walking speed, with muscle mass evaluated if these initial measurements reveal declines. Diagnostic cut-offs for these indicators are then applied to determine whether values are within...

Call For Papers


The Annals is the official journal of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore. Established in 1972, Annals is the leading medical journal in Singapore which aims to publish novel findings from clinical research as well as medical practices that can benefit the medical community.

Published monthly online, the Annals is indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE, Science Citation Index Expanded, Current Contents/Clinical Medicine and SCOPUS. We are ranked in the first quartile in the competitive category of Medicine (General and Internal) (Clarivate 2023).

The rapidly ageing population and enlarging burden of chronic diseases require a proportionate emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention. A health system that is more data-driven and patient-centric, which leverages the innovative use of technology and digital solutions, will be areas warranting research attention and coverage. The Annals invites submission of manuscripts that advance the scientific basis of clinical knowledge, and the practice of medicine in Singapore and internationally. We welcome submissions that address challenges in the management of chronic diseases (e.g. cancer, cardiovascular diseases, ageing, diabetes mellitus and neurological diseases), and use of technology and digital medicine to improve patient care.

Papers of sufficient merits will be published. Authors will also be notified if their manuscripts are deemed not suitable for publication.

MOST CITED ARTICLES

Trends in fluid overload-related hospitalisations among patients with diabetes mellitus: The...

Leveraging ChatGPT to aid patient education on coronary angiogram

Risk and protective factors of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic:...

MOST VIEWED ARTICLES

Prevalence of burnout among healthcare professionals in Singapore

Singapore tuberculosis (TB) clinical management guidelines 2024: A modified Delphi adaptation...

Healthcare cost of patients with multiple chronic diseases in Singapore public...

Periodontal disease and systemic health: An update for medical practitioners

Neck pain with prevertebral soft tissue thickening