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Comparison of four electrocardiographic criteria for the detection of cardiac abnormalities in Singapore athletes

Sudden cardiac death in athletes during exercise is rare, with an estimated incidence of 1–2 per 100,000 people per year in young athletes,1 and...

Improving electrocardiogram interpretation in Asian athletes: A call to action

The field of sports cardiology has evolved substantially over the past 2 decades due to improved understanding of the athlete’s heart, causes of sudden...

Outcomes of selexipag for treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension in an Asian population

Dear Editor, Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive condition characterised by increased pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance, resulting in right ventricular dysfunction...

Suboptimal adherence to medical therapy in patients undergoing lower limb angioplasty in Singapore

Dear Editor, Chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) is the advanced stage of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and patients with this condition face a very high risk...

Approach to bradyarrhythmias: A proposed algorithm

Bradyarrhythmias are common and occur in both physiological and pathological states. Bradycardia is defined as a heart rate of fewer than 60 beats per...

Ablation therapies for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: A systematic review and patient-level network meta-analysis

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a pertinent health condition that is seeing a sustained rise in global incidence and prevalence.1 In particular, paroxysmal AF (PAF),...

Catheter ablation as first-line treatment for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

Pharmacotherapy has been the mainstay of atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment. As AF progresses from paroxysmal to persistent, electrical and structural remodelling of the atria...

Implementation of an AI model to triage paediatric brain magnetic resonance imaging orders

Dear Editor, Artificial intelligence (AI) is viewed as the most important recent advancement in radiology with the potential to achieve Singapore’s objective of delivering value-based...

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children in Singapore

While children infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) resulting in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have milder manifestations compared to adults,1,2 a...

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: A unique manifestation of COVID-19

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, children have been relatively spared from the severe symptomatic infection affecting adults, particularly the elderly and those...

Impact of aortic annular size and valve type on haemodynamics and clinical outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve implantation

The management of severe aortic stenosis (AS) in patients with small aortic annulus (SAA) represents a therapeutic challenge due to the increased mortality and...

Sex and ethnicity modified high 1-year mortality in patients in Singapore with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common clinically significant arrhythmia and is associated with increased risks of stroke, dementia, heart failure (HF) and death.1...

Different strokes for different folks

Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains the most common arrhythmia since William Harvey’s observation of fibrillating auricles in open chest animal models in 1628. Willem Einthoven...

Interaction of sex and diabetes in Asian patients with heart failure with mildly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common comorbidity worldwide with global prevalence among adults above 18 years of age increasing from 4.7% in 1980 to...

Impact of sex and diabetes in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction

With increasing global awareness of sex differences in the heart failure population and the new entity of heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction...

Iatrogenic atrial septal defect after catheter ablation—to close or not to close?

Dear Editor, Transseptal access to the left heart is increasingly performed for electrophysiological procedures and for structural heart disease interventions such as balloon mitral valvuloplasty...

Cardiac sarcoidosis: Difficulties in diagnosis and treatment

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem, granulomatous disorder of unknown aetiology. It affects the lungs in 90% of cases, but is also known to affect other...

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Singapore: Can we do better?

Cardiac arrests are unpredictable events that frequently result in death or significant residual morbidity among survivors. These sudden events affect not only the individual,...

Sepsis and cardiovascular events: The story so far

Sepsis is a state of life-threatening organ dysfunction that results from a dysregulated host immune response to infection.1 Sepsis is a common condition that...

Previous history of hyperthyroidism in emergency department patients with atrial fibrillation does not increase the risk of thromboembolism and death

Dear Editor, Atrial fibrillation (AF) is frequently encountered in the emergency department (ED) and is a major risk factor for thromboembolic events. The clinical decision...

Pressures, indexes and peripheral arterial disease: Time to rethink our approach?

Most patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) are asymptomatic. Despite the absence of symptoms, these patients have a significantly increased risk of death and...

Risk Factors for Predicting Mortality in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit

Following the rapid advances in medical therapy and critical care technology over the past 30 years, coupled with the spiralling cost of medical care,...

Drug Treatment of Hypercholesterolaemia

Serum cholesterol has been established as a major risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). There is a linear association between serum cholesterol level...

Goldberger’s Triad in Dilated Cardiomyopathy—Can it Predict the Severity of Left Ventricular Dysfunction?

In 1982, Goldberger described a novel electrocardiogram (ECG) triad that was highly specific for patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure (attributable to...

Thyroid Storm Presenting as Jaundice and Complete Heart Block

Thyroid storm is defined as a severe and often life-threatening exacerbation of thyrotoxicosis which is usually characterised by hyperthermia, tachycardia, severe agitation and altered...

Simultaneous Transcatheter Valvuloplasty and Amplatzer Septal Occlusion for Pulmonary Valvar Stenosis and Secundum Atrial Septal Defect

Congenital pulmonary valvar stenosis (PVS) and secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) are relatively common forms of congenital heart disease (CHD). Since the first successful...

Electrocardiographic Abnormalities in Combined Hypercalcaemia and Hypokalaemia—Case Report

The electrocardiographic abnormalities in isolated hypercalcaemia and hypokalaemia have been well documented in the literature. However, electrocardiogram (ECG) findings in combined hypercalcaemia and hypokalaemia...

Infections in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia

Children undergoing chemotherapy for cancer are especially vulnerable to infection because of immunosuppression related to their underlying illness, the effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy....

Childhood Leukaemia: Towards an Integrated Psychosocial Intervention Programme in Singapore

In the last two decades there has been a surge of interest concerning the psychosocial correlates of life-threatening illnesses. Research in this area has...

Caudal Morphine in Paediatric Patients: A Comparison of Two Different Doses in Children after Major Urogenital Surgery

The use of caudal preservative-free morphine for postoperative analgesia in children has gained popularity since it was first described by Jensen. Several studies have...

A Retrospective Study of Infants with Severe Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension (PPHN) Managed without Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)

Persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) is an important cause of neonatal mortality amongst infants who are of term or post-term gestation. The most severely ill...

Five Paediatric Case Reports of the Use of Adenosine in Supraventricular Tachycardia

Adenosine has been shown to be effective in terminating supraventricular tachycardia in adults and children. However, the use of adenosine has not been previously...

Use of Central Venous Lines in Paediatrics—A Local Experience

Peripheral access by venous cut down, once popular in the 1950s and 1960s, has almost become obsolete with the introduction of the Seldinger technique...

Interventional Electrophysiology and its Role in the Treatment of Cardiac Arrhythmia

Cardiac arrhythmias are disorders of the electrical system of the heart which can present as benign ectopics or as life-threatening arrhythmias and sudden cardiac...

Survey of Aerobic Bacterial Infections in Paediatric Surgical Intensive Care Unit Patients

Data on infections in paediatric surgical patients are few in the literature. Although there are many studies on infection in adult surgical and paediatric...

Incessant Ectopic Atrial Tachycardia and Tachycardia-related Cardiomyopathy: Therapeutic Options and Potential for Cure

Incessant ectopic atria tachycardia (IEAT) is a rare and insidious arrhythmia which is frequently misdiagnosed and if untreated, leads to ‘exhaustion’ of the myocardium...

Intracoronary Brachytherapy: The Beginning of the End of Restenosis?

Restenosis remains a major clinical problem 20 years after the introduction of coronary angioplasty by Andreas Gruentzig in the treatment of coronary artery disease....

Perinatal Drug Abuse in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital

In recent years, perinatal drug abuse has been emerging as an area of major concern for the perinatologists. Chasnoff found the prevalence of substance...

The Effect of Fenofibrate on Insulin Sensitivity and Plasma Lipid Profile in Non diabetic Males with Low High Density Lipoprotein/Dyslipidaemic Syndrome

Hyperinsulinaemia and insulin resistance have been postulated to relate directly to both hypertension and coronary artery disease in type II diabetes and possibly also...

Homocysteine and Atherosclerotic Disease: The Epidemiologic Evidence

Homocysteine is a thiol-containing amino acid formed during the metabolism of methionine. The metabolic fate of homocysteine may be influenced by the alterations in...

A Clinical Study of Seven Cases of Trichotillomania in Singapore

Trichotillomania was first described by a French dermatologist Hallopeau (1889) of a young man who pulled out his hair in tufts. The word trichotillomania...

Parainfluenza Type 3 Viral Outbreak in a Neonatal Nursery

Parainfluenza viruses are relatively large RNA paramyxoviruses. Four serologic types cause disease in humans. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on...

T Wave Alternans and Acute Rheumatic Myocarditis: A Case Report

T wave alternans, an electrical cardiac alternans in which there is a beat-to-beat variation in the amplitude, shape or the polarity of the T...

Trends in Mortality, Incidence, Hospitalisation, Cardiac Procedures and Outcomes of Care for Coronary Heart Disease in Singapore, 1991-1996

In line with trends in many high-income countries, Singapore has experienced some declines in mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) since the 1980s. Whether...

The Future of Medicine from the Standpoint of the Practising Paediatrician

From the time of recorded history of medicine, the doctor whether he be the ancient healer or the modern medical practitioner, the doctor had...

Hepatopulmonary Syndrome: A Rare Complication of Chronic Liver Disease in Children

Children with chronic liver disorders may present with dysfunction of other organ systems. Encephalopathy, gastrointestinal bleeding, failure to thrive and impaired renal function are...

Bidirectional Cavopulmonary Anastomosis

Children with complex congenital heart disease and a functional single ventricle may not be ideal candidates for a Fontan procedure. A staged approach to...

Retinopathy of Prematurity in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), which could lead to visual impairment and blindness, is a recognised serious morbidity amongst surviving premature infants. The inverse relationship...

Echocardiographic Features and Management of Neonatal Ductal Aneurysm

Previously thought to be a rare condition, aneurysms of the ductus arteriosus have been increasingly reported in the medical literature over the past few...

Initial Experience With an Autocapture Pacemaker System

The longevity of a pacemaker generator varies directly with the total deliverable amount of electrical charge (Q, in coulombs) and inversely with the rate...

Transaminitis in Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy

Raised aminotransferase levels, especially that of alanine transaminase (ALT), have been traditionally attributed to liver pathology rather than to muscle disorders. However, raised alanine...

Twenty-four hour, Non-invasive, Neonatal Chromosome Analysis—Application in a Case of Mixed Gonadal Dysgenesis

Chromosome analysis in neonates requires venisection and this is sometimes both difficult and distressing. In addition, results can at best take 3 days but...

The Differential Diagnosis of Supraventricular Tachycardia Using Clinical and Electrocardiographic Features

Noninvasive evaluation of the mechanism of the arrhythmia is important in the management of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). It guides one in the choice of...

Sandhoff Disease—A Case Report of 3 Siblings and a Review of Potential Therapies

Sandhoff disease is a rare inborn error of metabolism characterised by the absence of both β-hexosaminidase A and B, resulting in an accumulation of...

A Case Report on the Perinatal Management of a 30-week Preterm Baby with Congenital Complete Heart Block

The association between congenital complete heart block (CHB) and maternal autoimmune disorders has been described for many years. Maternal systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is...

Cardiac Marker Point-of-care Testing: Evaluation of Rapid On-site Biochemical Marker Analysis for Diagnosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction

In the present era of revascularisation therapy, rapid and accurate diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is important, as these patients may benefit from...

Minimal Change Nephrotic Syndrome—A Complex Genetic Disorder

Minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) is the most common cause of childhood nephrotic syndrome. It is characterised by the presence of gross proteinuria, hypoalbuminaemia,...

Cardiovascular Disease: Genes and Public Health

The excitement surrounding the Human Genome Project and its impending completion has raised expectations of the possibilities for genetics in common disease. It is...

Candida Arthritis in a Premature Infant Treated Successfully with Oral Fluconazole for Six Months

Candida arthritis in premature infants is regarded as a rare condition. The largest published series of 8 cases from one institution was from Bombay,...

Incidence of Ischaemic Heart Disease and Stroke in Chinese, Malays and Indians in Singapore: Singapore Cardiovascular Cohort Study

Comparisons of disease frequency in different ethnic groups help to unravel the contributions of nature and nurture in their aetiology and to identify environmental...

Technetium-99m Sestamibi for the Assessment of Myocardial Salvage Following Reperfusion Therapy in Acute Myocardial Infarction

Reperfusion therapy for acute myocardial infarction is feasible with thrombolytic therapy as well as acute percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Both modalities of treatment...

DNA Testing for Fragile X Syndrome in 255 Males from Special Schools in Singapore

Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited cause of mental retardation, affecting approximately 1 in 1250 males and 1 in 2500 females. It...

Diagnosis of Pacemaker Lead Infection Using Transoesophageal Echocardiography: A Case Report

The expanding indications for permanent cardiac pacing mandate an awareness of the potential complications associated with device implantation. After failure of pacing and sensing,...

Pericarditis and myocarditis after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination in a nationwide setting

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in much morbidity and mortality worldwide. The development of mRNA vaccines has heralded much hope in...

Isolated Non-compaction of Ventricular Myocardium: A Report of Three Cases

Non-compaction of ventricular myocardium is a rare morphogenic arrest of compaction of the ventricular myocardial fibres during intrauterine life. Usually, the left ventricle is...

Diagnosing and Prognosticating Acute Meningitis in Young Infants within 24 Hours of Admission

Meningitis is an important cause of fever in young infants (infants 90 days old or younger). Most cases of meningitis are acute meningitis which...

Impairment of Endothelial Function—A Possible Mechanism for Atherosclerosis of a High-fat Meal Intake

The impairment of endothelial vasodilatory function has been considered an early event in atherogenesis. This has been studied in association with various cardiovascular risk...

Book Review

The above is a textbook of medicine written by Singapore doctors and published in Singapore. It is difficult not to be over-enthusiastic about it...

Enteral Nutrition of the Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) Infant

Optimal nutrition is critical in the management of the preterm infant. The fetus in utero receives continuous intravenous nutrition that is interrupted when prematurely...

A Case Series of Six Children with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is an uncommon but serious and debilitating disorder seen in children and adults. By definition, it is an elevation of...

2nd Chapter of Paediatricians Lecture: The Future of Paediatrics in Singapore

When I was first invited to give this 2nd Chapter of Paediatricians Lecture by the Chapter, my obvious answer was no. I could think...

Liver Transplantation in a Child With Severe Hypercholesterolaemia in Alagille Syndrome

Alagille syndrome (AS) or arteriohepatic dysplasia is a genetic disorder transmitted in an autosomal dominant inheritance. The chromosomal abnormality has been identified to the...

The Use of Vigabatrin in Infantile Spasms in Asian Children

Infantile spasms are a form of age-dependent myoclonic epilepsy that is difficult to control. Agents such as adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and prednisolone have been...

A Preliminary Study of the Utility of Combined Cardiac Markers in the Evaluation of Patients Presenting Early with Suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome

The management of patients presenting with chest pain of recent onset can prove to be a diagnostic challenge. These patients vary from having atypical...

Homocysteine, Folate and Vitamin B12 as Risk Factors for Acute Myocardial Infarction in a Southeast Asian Population

Since the beginning of the last decade, hyperhomocysteinaemia has been identified as a risk factor for acute coronary syndromes. A few large prospective studies...

Paediatric Orthopaedics in Singapore

The name “Orthopaedic Surgery” is derived from the words “orthos” (meaning straight or to straighten) and “paido” (meaning child). Thus, it is not unexpected...

Myocardial Infarction in Singapore: A Nationwide 10-year Study of Multiethnic Differences in Incidence and Mortality

Rapid urbanisation and increasing affluence have improved the socioeconomic status of Asians. This, however, has brought with it new socioeconomic and medical problems resulting...

Rheumatic Heart Diseases in Pregnancy

Rheumatic heart disease comprises acute rheumatic fever following group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal infection of the tonsillopharynx, and its long-term sequelae of heart valve fibrosis...

Allopurinol Hypersensitivity Syndrome and Acute Myocardial Infarction—Two Case Reports

Allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome is an idiosyncratic drug reaction characterised by an acute and severe multiorgan disease. It usually begins 2 to 6 weeks (up...

Paediatric Extracranial Germ Cell Tumours: A Retrospective Review

Germ cell tumours (GCTs) in children account for 2% to 3% of childhood malignancies. They arise from primordial germ cells and constitute a heterogeneous...

Two-year Outcome of Normal-birth-weight Infants Admitted to a Singapore Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

With the rapid advances in the field of neonatal intensive care, the focus of interest has been on the very-low-birthweight (VLBW) infant in recent...

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia and Chronic Lung Disease of Infancy: Strategies for Prevention and Management

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and chronic lung disease of infancy (CLD) are two chronic pulmonary conditions which are the result of incomplete resolution or abnormal...

Two Case Reports on Incessant Left Ventricular Tachycardia: Curative Therapy with Radiofrequency Ablation

Left ventricular tachycardia is a recognisable condition in patients with otherwise structurally normal heart. It may arise from various foci in the left ventricle. This...

Prevention of Restenosis after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: The Continuing Challenge

Since Andreas Gruntzig first demonstrated its use in humans in 1977, the utilisation of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) has grown tremendously throughout the...

Intussusception: A Three-Year Review

Intussusception is the most common cause of intestinal obstruction in infants and young children. It occurs when one segment of the intestines telescopes into...

Severe Newborn Encephalopathy Unrelated to Intrapartum Hypoxic Events: 3 Case Reports

Since Little’s article of 1862, it was popularly believed that brain damage in the majority of cases of cerebral palsy occurs during labour and...

A Case Series of Pre-Viable Severe Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome

Monozygotic twinning has an incidence of approximately 3.5 per 1000 pregnancies. Only 25% of monozygotic twins have a dichorionic placenta. This article is available only...

Idiopathic Chronic Fetomaternal Haemorrhage Resulting in Hydrops – A Case Report

Small amounts (<0.1 mL) of fetal blood are commonly found in maternal circulation. Massive fetomaternal haemorrhage (FMH) involves fetal blood loss into the maternal...

Imaging of Paediatric Mediastinal Masses

A review of mediastinal masses in children, emphasising imaging features, is important for several reasons. Firstly, the mediastinum is the most common location for...

The Relationship Between Scoring Systems and Cytokine Levels in Neonatal Sepsis

In newborn infants, the early diagnosis of sepsis is an important problem because the early signs and symptoms of septicaemia in term or preterm...

A Case Series of Sotalol-induced Torsade de Pointes in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation – A Tale with a Twist

In the light of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial (CAST) which suggested that class I antiarrhythmics may be linked to an increase in mortality,...

Clinical Characteristics of an Outbreak of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Singapore

The enterovirus family causes a wide array of illnesses, some easily recognised clinically and others diagnosed as non-specific viral illnesses. This large family of...

Perinatal Care at the Threshold of Viability—From Principles to Practice

One of the major challenges in neonatal-perinatal medicine in the new century is the optimal management of the mother and infant when delivery is...

Eight-year Outcome of Very-low-birth-weight Infants Born in KK Hospital

The outcome of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) premature babies with birth weights of <1500 g has remained an area of great concern for both parents and...

Long-term Follow-up and Outcome of Extremely-low-birth-weight (ELBW) Infants

With the progressive improvement in the survival of premature neonates, including those born at the extreme edge of viability, there has been a great...

Exogenous Surfactant Therapy in Newborn Infants

Exogenous surfactant therapy is widely used in the management of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and may have a role in the management of...

The Use and Abuse of Steroids in Perinatal Medicine

Preterm birth, delivery prior to 37 weeks of gestational age, accounts for a major and disproportionate amount of infant and neonatal morbidity and mortality....

Mass Newborn Screening in Singapore—Position and Projections

Mass newborn screening is an essential preventative public health programme which aims to diagnose, in the presymptomatic phase, diseases that have a better outcome...

Neonatology In Singapore: The Way We Were, The Way Forward

Over a span of 35 years of my working life, I have witnessed the growth of, and also grown together with, neonatology in Singapore....

Chorioamnionitis and Outcome in Extremely Preterm Infants

Preterm delivery is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality, especially among the 1% to 2% infants delivered at less than 32 weeks. Chorioamnionitis is...

Challenges in Perinatal Medicine

One of the significant milestones in the perinatal care in Singapore is the birth of the Perinatal Society of Singapore in March 1989. This...

Predicting Significant Hyperbilirubinaemia and Early Discharge for Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficient Newborns

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency occurs in 2.5% of Singapore’s population, and affected newborns are at risk for severe neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia and kernicterus. In the...

Autoimmune Liver Disease in Children

Autoimmune liver disorders are inflammatory liver diseases characterised histologically by a dense mononuclear cell infiltrate, including plasma cells, in the portal tract (Fig. 1)...

HIV/AIDS in Children

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in Asia has grown from a handful of cases to a major...

Immediate and Mid-Term Safety and Efficacy of Single Lead VDD Pacemakers for Patients with Atrioventricular Block and Normal Sinus Node Function—A Single Centre Experience

In patients requiring a cardiac pacemaker for any indication, the ideal goal of therapy is to achieve atrioventricular (AV) synchrony. This replicates the normal...

Adolescent Health Education Programmes: Theoretical Principles in Design and Delivery

Over the past three decades, the patterns of health need in youth have changed. Psychosocial problems such as depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, sexually...

Art and “the Language of Well-Being” in Adolescent Health Care

Creative processes involve imagining, making unexpected connections, maintaining discipline while letting go of controlling the outcome, opening oneself to pleasure, and moving beyond frustration....

From Recreation to Creative Expression: The Essential Features of an Adolescent Inpatient Psychosocial Support Programme

In 1984, the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) in Melbourne, Australia opened a new ward specifically for adolescent inpatients. This initiative was the result of...

Adolescent Admissions to a Tertiary Paediatric Hospital: A Dynamic Pattern

The nature of paediatric practice is changing worldwide. In developing countries, infant mortality from infectious diseases continues to fall with improved immunisation, medical care...

Clinical Assessment, Management and Outcomes of a Group of Adolescents Presenting with Complex Medico-psychosocial Conditions

Increased sensitivity to biological change can make adolescents particularly vulnerable to non-organic symptomatic disorders. A variety of pains, headaches, dizziness and fatigue may remain...

Adolescent Chronic Illness: A Qualitative Study of Psychosocial Adjustment

Chronic illness during adolescence can have significant psychological and social consequences within many life domains. Growing up with a chronic medical condition presents many...

Strategies to Promote Better Outcomes in Young People with Chronic Illnesses

The epidemiology of child health in the developed world is changing. Mortality from infectious diseases has fallen sharply over the past century due to...

Adolescent Alcohol and Other Substance Use: Sharing the Australian Experience

The most common causes of morbidity in adolescence often have behavioural or social determinants, and can have enormous social and economic consequences for adolescent...

Sexually Transmitted Infections in Singapore Teenagers

Adolescence can be a difficult period for many individuals who have to navigate their way through complicated emotional, psychological, physical and social demands and...

Eating Disorders in Singapore: A Review

Anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge-eating disorder are the three best described ‘eating disorders’. All three are predominantly disorders of women with the core symptoms...

Youth Suicide and Parasuicide in Singapore

The World Health Organization defines suicide as an act with a fatal outcome that is deliberately initiated and performed by the person himself or...

Five-Year Review of Adolescent Mental Health Usage in Singapore

The past 20 years have seen much growth in the knowledge of child and adolescent psychiatric practice. Research has provided an improved understanding in...

The Perils of Puberty

Adolescence is a biopsychosocial maturational process, with the biological changes including completion of linear growth and sexual maturation (puberty), maturation of enzyme systems such...

Adolescent Health—A New Perspective in Singapore

In the past five decades, there have been significant advances in the fields of Paediatrics and Adult Medicine in Singapore. However, the bridging field...

Torsades de pointes in a woman presenting with syncope

A 57-year-old woman presented with first onset syncope, which was witnessed by her family members. It occurred in the middle of a conversation and...

MELAS: A Case Report

A 6-year-old Chinese boy presented at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery clinic with gingival bleeding due to poor oral hygiene, odontogenic pain due to...

Spironolactone Does Not Prevent Restenosis After Coronary Stenting in Humans

High restenosis rate, which has been documented to occur in approximately 30% to 50% of cases, still remains a major concern, although percutaneous transluminal...

Oropharyngeal Carriage and Penicillin Resistance of Neisseria meningitidis in Primary School Children in Manisa, Turkey

Infections by Neisseria meningitidis are significant causes of mortality and morbidity in young children and adolescents. The epidemiology of serious meningococcal disease is an...

Nuclear Cardiology in Singapore: A Review

The past decade has witnessed significant advances and rapid growth in the field of nuclear cardiology. In Singapore, our experience has been similar to...

Stem Cell Cardiomyoplasty: State-of-the-Art

Congestive heart failure (CHF) remains the most common diagnosis made in cardiology wards today. At present, no long-term therapeutic option for end-stage CHF is...

Medical Therapy in Heart Failure – Is Polypharmacy Necessary?

The clinical syndrome of heart failure is recognised by a characteristic pattern of haemodynamic, renal, neural and hormonal responses. Heart failure is the end-stage...

Coronary Artery Disease: Comprehensive Evaluation by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major health problem worldwide. With advances in CAD intervention and improvements in treatment and management of CAD, there...

Surgery for Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia. The overall prevalence of atrial fibrillation is 0.4%. This article is available only as a PDF....

Drug-eluting Stents: The End of Restenosis?

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the preferred revascularisation approach for most patients with coronary artery disease because, with comparable clinical outcomes in selected patients,...

Coronary Artery Ectasia: A Ten-year Experience in a Tertiary Hospital in Singapore

Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is the abnormal dilatation of a segment of the coronary artery to a diameter of at least 1.5 times that...

Pilot Survey of the Diagnosis and Management of Heart Failure in Primary Care: A Singaporean Perspective

Congestive heart failure is an increasingly common disorder and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries around the world. It is...

High-sensitivity C-reactive Protein is Predictive of Medium-term Cardiac Outcome in High-risk Asian Patients Presenting With Chest Pain Syndrome Without Myocardial Infarction

Patients with chest pain often pose a diagnostic conundrum to the attending physician especially when symptoms are not typical of angina and the electrocardiogram...

Cardiovascular Medicine and Surgery in Singapore: The Next Lap

Fourteen years ago, an editorial in the Annals announced the coming of age of cardiology in Singapore. Among the issues raised in that editorial...

Clinical Indications for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scanning

The purpose of these guidelines is to provide a broad framework for clinicians considering the use of positron emission tomography (PET) scanning for their...

Clinical Applications of Positron Emission Tomography in Cardiology: A Review

Ischaemic heart disease associated with depressed left ventricular function is a common clinical management dilemma. There is overwhelming evidence that such patients have a...

Positron Emission Tomography – A Vital Component of Molecular Imaging

Contemporary medical imaging is progressing towards quantification of tissue function in addition to merely providing anatomical information, as illustrated by the rising use of...

A Fatal Turkish Case of Campomelic Dysplasia

Paediatric Medicine (CD) is a rare form of congenital short-limbed dwarfism, classically characterised by campomelia (bowing of the long bones of the lower extremities)...

Familial Risk of Allergic Rhinitis and Atopic Dermatitis among Chinese Families in Singapore

Family history has been shown to be a risk factor for the development of allergic rhinitis (AR) and atopic dermatitis (AD). However, the increase...

Clinical Report: A Case of Williams Syndrome and Klinefelter Syndrome

Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare but well recognised neurodevelopmental disease affecting the connective tissue and the central nervous system. The syndrome was first...

Skin Manifestation of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Infection – A Case Report and Review Article

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an aerobic gram-negative bacillus that is found in aquatic environments. It is a frequent coloniser of fluids used in the hospital...

Gender Disparity in Paediatric Hospital Admissions

Gender difference in the incidence of childhood diseases has long been recognised. but the magnitude of this effect and consistency across many disease categories...

Study of Inherited Metabolic Disorders in Singapore – 13 Years Experience

Inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) described in the early 1900s by Garrod were due to a block in a metabolic pathway, arising from an...

Does Visual Turbidity Correlate With Serum Triglyceride Levels in Babies on Total Parenteral Nutrition?

Intravenous lipid infusion is commonly used as part of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) in newborn babies. Upon infusion, it forms an emulsion that resembles...

Corticosteroids are not Present in a Traditional Chinese Medicine Formulation for Atopic Dermatitis in Children

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common, chronic inflammatory skin disease. It has been estimated that 15% of schoolchildren aged 13 to 14 years have...

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Paediatric Oncology Patients in Singapore

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been gaining acceptance throughout the world. The efficacy of CAM is unproven, yet it remains popular with the...

16th Seah Cheng Siang Memorial Lecture – The Changing Face of Cardiology Practice, Training and Research in Singapore

Professor Seah Cheng Siang was one of the most illustrious physicians of his era. During his professional career, he held the following positions: Head,...

The Epidemiology of Paediatric Intussusception in Singapore: 1997 to 2004

Intussusception (IS) is the most common cause of intestinal obstruction in infants and young children. The peak age of presentation is 4 to 8...

Building Collaboration in Cardiac Imaging

Publicity about new developments in medical technology is not at all unusual. But the degree with which multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) for coronary artery...

A Report of Two Families with Sarcosinaemia in Hong Kong and Revisiting the Pathogenetic Potential of Hypersarcosinaemia

Sarcosinaemia (OMIN 268900) is an autosomal recessive condition due to the deficiency of sarcosine dehydrogenase (E.C. 1.5.99.1). It is a rare condition with an...

Neonatal Priapism Associated With Spontaneous Bilateral Pyocavernositis

Priapism is a pathological state of prolonged, generally painful erection, unassociated with sexual desire and not ending in ejaculation. Rare before the 1980s, this...

Paediatrics to Geriatrics: The Continuum

In many parts of Asia today, paediatricians are still grappling with the childhood problems of infectious diseases, diarrhoeal diseases and malnutrition. In Singapore, it...

Radiographic Features of SARS in Paediatric Patients: A Review of Cases in Singapore

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a newly emerged atypical pneumonia caused by the SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). It is easily transmitted via droplet infection...

Guidelines on Cardiac CT in Singapore (2006)

The heart is difficult to image because of its complex wall motion and variability of the cardiac cycle. Recent advances in 16 and 64-slice...

Clinical Features Associated with Nasal Staphylococcus aureus Colonisation in Chinese Children with Moderate-to-severe Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic relapsing disease in children. It was estimated that about 15% of children suffer from this disease.1-3 Bacterial...

A Rotavirus Vaccine for Infants: The Asian Experience

Of all the enteric pathogens that infect young children, rotavirus is recognised as the leading cause of severe gastroenteritis worldwide. Rotavirus accounts for 20%...

Phase II Trial of Gemcitabine and Cisplatin Sequentially Administered in Asian Patients With Unresectable or Metastatic Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. It ranks first among males and third among females in the incidence of...

Therapeutic Hypothermia for Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy

Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) is an important cause of death and later neurological disability in full-term neonates worldwide. Perinatal asphyxia causes about 19% of the...

Outcome of Organic Acidurias in China

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Organising Services for IMD in Thailand: Twenty Years Experience

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Newborn Screening in Pakistan – Lessons from a Hospital-based Congenital Hypothyroidism Screening Programme

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Newborn Screening in Bangladesh

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Newborn Screening in China: Phenylketonuria, Congenital Hypothyroidism and Expanded Screening

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Minimising Harm from Newborn Screening Programmes

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Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip: Universal or Selective Ultrasound Screening?

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Financing Newborn Screening Systems: US Experience

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Inborn Errors of Metabolism Presenting as Neonatal Encephalopathy: Practical Tips for Clinicians

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Legal Issues in Neonatal Screening

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Neuroblastoma Screening in Japan: Population-based Cohort Study and Future Aspects of Screening

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External Quality Assurance Programme for Newborn Screening of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency

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Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency: Correlation between the Genotype, Biochemistry and Phenotype

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Disorders of Vitamin B12 Metabolism Presenting Through Newborn Screening

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Diagnosis of Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) Responsive Mild Phenylketonuria in Japan over the Past 10 Years

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Fatty Acid Oxidation Defects

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Disorders of the Carnitine Cycle and Detection by Newborn Screening

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Spectrum of Inherited Metabolic Disorders in Malaysia

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Establishing a Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Programme

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Current Understanding of Auditory Neuropathy

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A Multidisciplinary Approach to Paediatric Hearing Loss: Programme at the Centre for Hearing Intervention and Language Development, National University Hospital, Singapore

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Early Intervention For Hearing Impairment: Appropriate, Accessible and Affordable

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Impact of the National Hearing Screening Programme in China

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Outcome of Early Cochlear Implantation

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Eliminating Iodine Deficiency: Obstacles and Their Removal

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Neuro-developmental Deficits in Early-treated Congenital Hypothyroidism

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Issues on Universal Screening for Galactosemia

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Newborn Screening for all Identifiable Disorders with Tandem Mass Spectrometry is Cost Effective: The Negative Case

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Newborn Screening for all Identifiable Disorders with Tandem Mass Spectrometry is Cost Effective: Supporting Arguments

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My Early Experiences in Establishing Neonatal Screening and the Reason for Regional Meetings of the International Society for Neonatal Screening

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Diagnosis and Management Support for an Expanded Newborn Screening Programme

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Considerations in Choosing Screening Conditions: One (US) Approach

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Clinical Applications of Molecular Genetics: The Model of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

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Newborn Screening in Japan: Restructuring for the New Era

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Improved Health and Development of Children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing Following Early Intervention

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Towards Universal Newborn Screening in Developing Countries: Obstacles and the Way Forward

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Improving Child Health – Newborn Screening for All?

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Neonatal Screening – A Global Perspective

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Prevalence of Refractive Error in Malay Primary School Children in Suburban Area of Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia

Refractive error remains one of the primary causes of visual impairment in children worldwide. Prevalence of visual impairment in children, is defined as uncorrected...

The Association of Smoking with Components of the Metabolic Syndrome in Non-diabetic Patients

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is conceptualised as a constellation of physiologic or anthropometric abnormalities. Typically, it includes excess weight, hyperglycaemia, elevated blood pressure, low concentration...

Hepatitis B Virus Infection and the Risk of Coronary Atherosclerosis

Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease, is the leading cause of death for both men and women. CAD is usually caused...

Assessment of Medical Graduates Competencies

Medical professional proficiency comprises a set of skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to efficiently accomplish the practice of medicine. The major aim of undergraduate...

When Words Really Matter

I think a lot these days about doctors giving advice. Nobody taught me, back in medical school, how to give advice. This article is available...

Behavioural Sleep Disorders in Children and Adolescents

Overall, children spend one-third to one-half of their life sleeping. Although sleep comprises such a significant portion of a child’s day, sleep disturbances are...

Cardiovascular Changes in Children with Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is a spectrum of diseases ranging from primary snoring to obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). A recent review suggested that the...

Obesity and Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Hypopnoea Syndrome in Singapore Children

Obesity is becoming a problem of epidemic proportions and is perhaps, the most pervasive medical problem faced by medical providers today. It is a...

Sleep Disorders in Children: The Singapore Perspective

Sleep problems are common in children. For example, snoring occurs in more than 25% of Singapore children1 and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) occurs in...

Diagnosis and Evaluation of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea in Children

Children with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) may present with nocturnal and/or diurnal symptoms. The history is best obtained from parents, or siblings who share...

The Scope of Paediatric Sleep Medicine

Despite apparent similarities to adult sleep medicine, the disorders of paediatric sleep medicine have a distinct epidemiology and pathophysiology. During childhood, the physiology of...

Sleep Disturbances in Singaporean Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood psychiatric disorder with various studies reporting prevalence rates of between 1.7% and 16%. The most...

Inflammatory Cytokines and Childhood Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is characterised by repeated episodes of upper airway occlusion during sleep that are associated with daytime behavioural changes and abnormalities...

Nasal Obstruction in Children with Sleep-disordered Breathing

Nasal breathing is critical in infants and children; for example, neonatal choanal atresia often leads to respiratory distress and may require urgent intervention in...

Concomitant Coronary Artery Disease Among Asian Ischaemic Stroke Patients

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of mortality following ischaemic stroke. The annual risk for myocardial infarction following ischaemic stroke is approximately...

Improving Door-to-balloon Times in Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Acute ST-elevation Myocardial Infarction: The Value of an Audit-driven Quality Initiative

Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has been shown to be superior to thrombolytic therapy in terms...

Immunogenicity, Reactogenicity and Safety of a Diphtheria-Tetanus-Acellular Pertussis-Inactivated Polio and Haemophilus Influenzae Type b Combination Vaccine in a Placebo-controlled Rotavirus Vaccine Study

Singapore’s national immunisation programme for the 6 traditional Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) vaccines (i.e. BCG, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and measles) and hepatitis...

Transfusion-dependent Microcytic Anaemia in a 10-year-old Girl

A 10-year-girl from Bangladesh presented with a moderately severe anaemia (lowest recorded haemoglobin level of 5.6 g/dL) and a mild jaundice (latest serum bilirubin,...

Caudal Regression Syndrome

A white female with an uncomplicated history of birth delivery and a familial history of diabetes mellitus presented to the orthopaedic clinic at the...

3rd College of Paediatrics and Child Health Lecture – The Past, the Present and the Shape of Things to Come…

In the post-war days of the 1950s, Singapore children were faced with problems of malnutrition and infectious diseases. There was poverty, overcrowded housing and...

Auricular Anthropometry of Newborns at the Singapore General Hospital

Abnormalities of the external ear are described in many syndromes and genetic conditions. Melnick et al reported an incidence of 1 in 90 births...

Risk Factor Profile and Treatment Patterns of Patients with Atherothrombosis in Singapore: Insight from the REACH Registry

Atherothrombosis is a global problem that affects every ethnic group. It can lead to ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction or vascular death. This article is available...

Non-compaction Cardiomyopathy Presenting with Classical Angina Pectoris

Non-compaction cardiomyopathy (NCC) is an unclassified cardiomyopathy, previously known as “spongy left ventricular myocardium”. It is characterised by prominent myocardial trabeculations and deep intertrabecular...

A Case of Myopericarditis in a Patient with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Community-acquired Pneumonia

We described a healthy and physically active 41-year-old man who presented to a private practitioner with right axillary pain and fever. Physical examination revealed...

Treatment of Cardiogenic Pulmonary Oedema by Helmet-delivered Non-invasive Pressure Support Ventilation in Children With Scorpion Sting Envenomation

Scorpion stings represent an important and serious public health problem worldwide due to their high incidence and potentially severe and often fatal clinical manifestations,...

Screening Tools for Bacteraemia in a Selected Population of Febrile Children

Bacteraemia refers to the presence of bacteria in the bloodstream. The presence or absence of toxicity differentiates occult bacteraemia, which is relatively asymptomatic, from...

The Relation Between Insulin Resistance Determined by Haemostatic Modelling and Slow Coronary Flow

Slow coronary flow (SCF) is a well recognised clinical entity, characterised by delayed opacification of coronary arteries in the presence of normal coronary angiogram....

Review of the Management Outcome of Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis and the Role of Prophylactic Contra-lateral Pinning Re-examined

Slipped capital femoral epiphysis is the commonest hip problem in the adolescent age group. The goals of treatment are aimed at avoiding the complications...

Improving Access to Outpatient Cardiac Care at the National Heart Centre – A Partnership Between Specialists and Primary Care

There is evidence that shows that the use of healthcare delivered by private providers, particularly procedures and hospital care, depends on supply. For example,...

Pattern and Outcome of Subsidised Referrals to Cardiology Specialist Outpatient Clinics

Singapore faces an increasing demand for public healthcare from an ageing population in need of chronic care. At our cardiology specialist outpatient clinics, the...

Phaeochromocytoma the Great Mimicker: A Case Report

Phaeochromocytomas are catecholamine producing neuroendocrine tumours that can manifest a variety of symptoms which mimic other diseases. They are also known for their “rule...

The Angiographic Aspects of Myocardial Bridges in Turkish Patients who have Undergone Coronary Angiography

Myocardial bridge, intramural coronary artery, coronary artery over bridging and myocardial loop are essentially the different terms used to designate the same phenomenon. Myocardial...

Paediatric perineal skin pit: More than skin deep?

A 2.5-year-old boy was referred to our clinic for abnormal genitalia and a febrile urinary tract infection (Escherichia coli >105 colony-forming units/mL). At birth,...

A New Method for the Removal of Safety Pins Ingested by Children

Foreign body ingestion is a relatively common problem, with an estimated incidence of 120 per 1 million population, resulting in approximately 1500 deaths each...

Factors Predictive of Outcome in Childhood Stroke in an Asian Population

Strokes in childhood are generally considered to be rare with an incidence of about 2.7 per 100 000 children per year.1 The aetiologies of...

Recurrent Group B Streptococcal Septicemia in a Very Low Birth Weight Infant with Infective Endocarditis and Submandibular Cellulitis

Maternal Group B streptococcal colonisation can lead to neonatal pneumonia, meningitis or sepsis. Neonatal Group B Streptococcal (GBS) sepsis is common, but infective endocarditis...

Management of Acute ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: Reperfusion Options

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death globally. More than 920,000 myocardial infarctions (MI) are diagnosed annually in the United States. Of these,...

A Case of Acute Myocardial Infarction 24 hours after Acute Ischaemic Stroke

It is well known that thrombolysis for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) may lead to disintegration of pre-existing intracardiac thrombi with subsequent cerebral embolisation. It...

Morbidity of Parainfluenza 3 Outbreak in Preterm Infants in a Neonatal Unit

Parainfluenza type 3 virus (PIV-3) is an important nosocomial pathogen. It closely mimics respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in its clinical presentations, and in infants....

An Unexpected Outcome following Radial Head Excision for Jeffrey Type II Fracture-Dislocation of the Proximal Radius in a Child

We present a case of a 10-year-old child who sustained a traumatic fracture-dislocation of his proximal radius and subsequently underwent surgical removal of the...

Temporary Tattoo Associated Type IV Delayed Hypersensitivity Dermatitis in a Child – A Case Report and Call for Parental Caution in Singapore

A 5-year-old, previously healthy French Caucasian boy was seen at a Paediatric Emergency Department for a skin rash over his left forearm. This article is...

The Growing Burden of Cardiovascular Disease: Role of the Arterial-Cardiac Interaction

World Heart Day was inaugurated to increase global awareness that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the world’s leading cause of death, claiming, according to the...

A Case of Congenital Haemolytic Anaemia and Thrombocytopenia

A 20-month-old boy came from Bangladesh to Singapore for medical consultation. He presented with progressive pallor, easy bruising, intermittent dark-coloured urine, and failure to...

An Exanthem with An Annular Pattern in a 2-year-old Girl

A 2-year-old Chinese girl was seen in clinic with an erythematous annular itchy rash which began on the thighs and had spread to the...

Comparison of Cardiac Output Measurement by Arterial Waveform Analysis and Pulmonary Artery Catheter in Mitral Stenosis

Cardiac output (CO) is a vital measurement that influences clinical decision-making. Although thermodilution via a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) is considered the gold standard...

Clinical Features Differentiating Biliary Atresia from Other Causes of Neonatal Cholestasis

Causes of neonatal cholestasis (NC) are long and diverse but the responses of newborn liver, either physiological or anatomical, are limited. This is because...

Comparison of Clinical Outcomes and Cost Between Surgical and Transcatheter Device Closure of Atrial Septal Defects in Singapore Children

Congenital heart defects (CHD), with an incidence of approximately 1 in 100 live births, are the most important and frequent congenital malformations. It can...

Unusual Pacemaker Lead Placement in an Unsuspecting Heart

A 51-year-old man, with a negative cardiac medical history, presented with symptomatic 2:1 atrioventricular block. A permanent pacemaker was implanted. This article is available only...

Bannayan Riley Ruvalcaba Syndrome

Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome (BRRS) classically presents with macrocephaly, subcutaneous and visceral lipomata, haemangiomata, hamartomatous intestinal polyps and pigmented macules involving the genitalia. This autosomal dominant...

Dyke-Davidoff-Masson Syndrome

An 8-year-old boy presented with uncontrolled seizures. He was born as the second child to non-consanguineous parents. He had significant perinatal asphyxia in the...

Embolised Injection Needle Fragment to the Heart, Mimicking a Subcutaneous Charm Needle

Embolisation of a fragmented injection needle to the heart is rare, even in intravenous drug abusers. The presence of an embolised needle fragment to...

Childhood Food Allergy: A Singaporean Perspective

Food allergy is defined as reaction to a food which has an immunologic mechanism. If immunoglobulin E (IgE) is involved in the reaction, the...

Transcatheter Closure of Atrial Septal Defects – Is Balloon Sizing Still Necessary?

Device closure of atrial septal defects through the transcatheter approach has now been well accepted as an option to surgical treatment. A range of...

Factors Affecting the B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Levels in Stroke Patients

The term “stroke” comprises all diseases in which a region of the brain is transiently or continuously affected by ischaemia or haemorrhage, and/or in...

Eighteen-Month Clinical Safety and Efficacy Outcomes of Sirolimus-, Paclitaxel- and Zotarolimus-drug Eluting Stents in Diabetic Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Complex Coronary Artery Stenosis

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have higher incidence of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality compared with non-diabetic patients. The underlying mechanism is due to the...

Risk Factors and Clinical Outcomes for Contrast-induced Nephropathy After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with Normal Serum Creatinine

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a common complication post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). CINis associated with increased morbidity, mortality, prolonged hospitalisation and long-term renal impairment. This article...

Brachial Approach for Coronary Angiography and Intervention: Totally Obsolete, or a Feasible Alternative When Radial Access is Not Possible?

The possible methods of reaching the coronary vasculature using a percutaneous technique are limitless: the radial, femoral, brachial, ulnar, subclavian and axillary arteries, and...

2009 Pandemic Influenza H1N1: Paediatric Perspectives

The pandemic H1N1 influenza virus, containing genes from avian, human and swine influenza viruses, emerged in North America, and caused illness in more than...

Survey of Healthcare Workers’ Attitudes, Beliefs and Willingness to Receive the 2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) Vaccine and the Impact of Educational Campaigns

Since the first positive 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) case was reported in Singapore on 26 May 2009, the country saw an exponential rise...

Angioplasty on an Infarct-related Anomalous Right Coronary Artery Arising from Posterior Coronary Sinus

A 60-year-old chronic smoker had delayed presentation (>18 hours) of acute inferior myocardial infarction with electrocardiogram showing 1.0 mm ST-segment elevation in leads II,...

Complete Atrioventricular Block Complicating Acute Anterior Myocardial Infarction can be Reversed with Acute Coronary Angioplasty

Complete atrioventricular block (AVB) develops in more than 5% of patients with myocardial infarction (MI). These patients have poorer outcomes compared to those without...

Acute Myocardial Infarction in Pregnant Women

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is an important cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. It typically occurs in middle-aged or elderly people with cardiovascular risk...

Risk Stratification for Sudden Cardiac Death after Acute Myocardial Infarction

In today’s modern era of evidence-based medicine and interventional cardiology, most patients who suffer an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are started on medication with...

Adjunctive Pharmacologic Agents and Mechanical Devices in Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) has been shown to be superior to thrombolysis in patients presenting with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI), with...

Management of Antiplatelet Therapy During Acute Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: New Strategies and Therapeutics

Platelet adhesion, activation, and aggregation are stimulated during an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), the result of intimal injury due to rupture of an atherosclerotic...

Risk Assessment Models in Acute Coronary Syndromes and Their Applicability in Singapore

Strategies for managing cardiovascular disease are evolving rapidly. This evolution and improvement in care is responsible for reducing mortality especially in patients presenting with...

Current Trends in Diagnostic Biomarkers of Acute Coronary Syndrome

Advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have led to the marked increase in development of biomarkers for diagnosis,...

Update on Clinical Imaging of Coronary Plaque in Acute Coronary Syndrome

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) encompasses the clinical spectrum of unstable angina (UA) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Most ACS are precipitated by luminal thrombi...

Panic Attack and its Correlation with Acute Coronary Syndrome – More Than Just a Diagnosis of Exclusion

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a life-threatening condition which benefits from prompt evaluation and proper treatment, such that it would be considered negligent for...

Research on Psychoneuroimmunology: Does Stress Influence Immunity and Cause Coronary Artery Disease?

In recent decades, there has been increasing interest in exploring the relationship between psychological stress and various health conditions. An enlarging body of evidence...

Clinical and Angiographic Findings of Complete Atrioventricular Block in Acute Inferior Myocardial Infarction

Complete atrioventricular block (AVB) complicates inferior wall myocardial infarction (MI) in 11% to 15% of cases. It usually clusters with conditions indicative of poor...

Reperfusion Strategy and Mortality in ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction among Patients with and without Impaired Renal Function

Randomised controlled trials have demonstrated better outcomes with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) over fi brinolytic therapy in the treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial...

Gender Disparity in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Acute Coronary Syndromes – Does it Still Exist in Contemporary Practice?

Globally, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the single most common cause of death among women; and in parallel with an increasing life expectancy, the proportion...

The Impact of Gender on the Outcomes of Invasive versus Conservative Management of Patients with Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Recent studies have suggested differences in clinical outcomes between men and women following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Some studies have indicated poorer survival of...

Framingham Risk Score Inadequately Predicts Cardiac Risk in Young Patients Presenting with a First Myocardial Infarction

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The Framingham Risk Score (FRS) was derived from the Framingham Heart Study...

Acute Coronary Syndrome: from Epidemiology to Treatment

The term “acute coronary syndrome” (ACS) was introduced a decade ago to describe a spectrum of conditions resulting in acute myocardial ischaemia. It comprises...

Reply from Author: Is It Time to Revise the Definition of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?

We would like to thank the author for suggesting that the definition of ADHD should be revised. This is an important consideration in the...

Is It Time to Revise the Definition of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?

I read with interest the article published in the Annals entitled “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Coping or Curing?”, which concluded that coping rather than...

Off-Pump versus On-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Procedures: Postoperative Renal Complications in an Asian Population

To date, the major part of routine cardiac surgery is performed using extracorporeal circulation with cardioplegic arrest. Regardless the technique of cardioplegia, temporary renal...

Dedicated Cytogenetics Factor is Critical for Improving Karyotyping Results for Childhood Leukaemias – Experience in the National University Hospital, Singapore 1989-2006

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) make up the bulk of childhood leukaemia cases. With risk stratified therapy being one of...

Epidemiological Surveillance and Control of Rubella in Singapore, 1991-2007

Rubella is a mild febrile viral exanthematous disease transmitted through droplets or direct contact with the nasopharyngeal secretion of an infected person. It is...

Emerging Trends in Breastfeeding Practices in Singaporean Chinese Women: Findings from a Population-based Study

The health benefits of breast milk have been well documented, with positive implications for infants’ metabolic, immunologic, respiratory and digestive health. The World Health...

A Missed Bilateral Choanal Atresia

What do you see in the image? a) Deviated posterior nasal septum b) Nasopharyngeal tumour c) Rhinolith with mucous plug d) Bilateral choanal atresia e) Nasal pyriform aperture stenosis This...

Health-related Quality of Life in Children with Cancer Undergoing Treatment: A First Look at the Singapore Experience

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has been progressively acknowledged as an essential health outcome measure in clinical trials and health services research and evaluation....

Catheter Entrapment During Cardiac Electrophysiology Study

A 50-year-old man underwent cardiac electrophysiology study for palpitations. Under fluoroscopic guidance, 1 deflectable decapolar and 2 quadripolar diagnostic catheters were introduced smoothly into the...

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Chinese Preschoolers in Singapore

The increasing prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity and its associated adverse health outcomes have become an important health issue. Childhood obesity can persist...

Treatment of Coronary In-stent Restenosis with Drug-eluting Balloon Catheter: Real-world Outcome and Literature Review

Dear Editor, Currently, coronary stent implantation is employed in approximately 90% of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) cases. Despite the use of drug-eluting stents (DES), coronary...

Electrocardiograph Changes, Troponin Levels and Cardiac Complications After Orthopaedic Surgery

Following orthopaedic surgery, approximately 5% of patients sustain cardiac complications which leads to increased morbidity and mortality. The mortality rate after hip fracture is...

Short- and Long-Term Outcomes at 2, 5 and 8 Years Old for Neonates at Borderline Viability—An 11-Year Experience

Singapore was listed consistently among the top 3 countries in the world with the lowest infant mortality rate. In particular, Asia had seen its...

Long-term Outcomes of Medical Therapy Versus Coronary Revascularisation in Patients with Intermediate Stenoses Guided by Pressure Wire

Although coronary angiography has been used as the “gold standard” imaging technique for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease, it is essentially a lumenogram...

Chest Pain, Something is Not Right…Or Left

A 46-year-old female was referred for evaluation of central chest pain unrelated to exertion. She was known to have diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia....

A Novel “Box Lesion” Minimally Invasive Totally Thoracoscopic Surgical Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation

  Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common and severe cardiac arrhythmia. It affects 0.4% to 1% of the general population, and the prevalence of...

Improved door-to-balloon time for primary percutaneous coronary intervention for patients conveyed via emergency ambulance service

Early reperfusion of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has been shown to result in better outcomes,1-3 and guidelines for treatment of STEMI recommend a...

Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in Malaysian infants

Vitamin D deficiency, a worldwide health problem, is also prevalent in tropical countries. It is estimated that 15% of the world’s population are either...

Impact of true fetal mosaicism on prenatal screening and diagnosis

Over the past decade, the non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) has increasingly been used as a method for prenatal screening for trisomy 21 (T21) and...

Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy: The emerging role of cardiac amyloid imaging

Transthyretin amyloidosis (or ATTR amyloidosis) is an under-recognised multisystemic disorder, arising from misfolding of transthyretin proteins into insoluble amyloid fibrils. As amyloid fibrils deposit...

New-onset cardiovascular risk factors following liver transplantation: A cohort analysis in Singapore

Malnutrition is well described in liver cirrhosis. The hyperdynamic circulation and altered metabolism in cirrhosis result in a hypercatabolic state which accelerates tissue breakdown....

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in post-COVID-19 patients: A case series

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with thromboembolic phenomenon in the early phase of disease. Growing evidence suggests a hypercoagulable state as well...

Medical management of PAD: Expand or consolidate?

In this issue of the Annals, a rapid review of adherence to evidence-based medical treatment highlights an important and underappreciated aspect of the management...

Dynamic mitral regurgitation treated with MitraClip

The dynamic nature of mitral regurgitation (MR) has been well appreciated but clinically under-recognised. In addition, evidence on therapeutic options for dynamic MR has...

Percutaneous paravalvular leak repair for severe aortic regurgitation after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)

Paravalvular leaks (PVLs) are not uncommon after surgical valve replacement. The need for re-operation for clinically significant leaks is between 1 and 3%. Percutaneous...

Impact of dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation and myResponder mobile app on bystander resuscitation

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, with a global incidence of 62 cases per 100,000 person-years. In addition, there...

Cerebral venous thrombosis in a patient with mild COVID-19 infection

Emerging reports suggest venous and arterial thromboembolic diseases can complicate recovery from COVID-19. Postulated mechanisms include hypercoagulability, hypoxia, immobilisation, excessive inflammation and diffuse intravascular...

Paediatric emergency department attendances during COVID-19 and SARS in Singapore

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020, with over 110 million cumulative cases...

Epidemiology and risk stratification of minor head injuries in school-going children

Head injuries are common childhood injuries that present to paediatric emergency departments. Falls are the most common cause in young children, while contact sports...