Editorial
Stemming the tide of chronic kidney disease: A focus on primary care prevention
The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) among Singapore residents aged 18 to 74 years rose significantly from 8.8% in 2019–2020 to 13.8% in 2021–2022.1,2 Singapore ranks third globally for treated end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), with a median survival of 6 years post-dialysis.3 Diabetic nephropathy was the leading cause...
Original Article
Five-year outcomes of a holistic programme for managing early chronic kidney disease in primary care
Singapore has the third highest incidence and sixth highest prevalence of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in the world.1 Globally, chronic kidney disease (CKD) is estimated to affect over 850 million people, with a prevalence of 13.4% among adults worldwide.2 Diabetes is the main cause of ESKD in new patients...
Letter to the Editor
Evaluating the role of technology in disseminating education to patients with chronic kidney disease
Dear Editor,
The optimal management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) requires lifestyle changes and adherence to long-term medications. Knowledge is a component of health literacy and is needed for self-management. Limited health literacy can lead to negative outcomes, such as adverse clinical events and mortality.1
Using technology to improve patients’ knowledge...
Original Article
Trends in fluid overload-related hospitalisations among patients with diabetes mellitus: The impact of chronic kidney disease
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major global health problem, contributing to significant clinical disease burden, healthcare expenditure and societal costs.1 In Singapore, DM accounts for 2.9% of disability-adjusted life years and 4.3% of years lived with disability.2,3 By 2030, it is projected to cost approximately USD 1.89 billion in...
Original Article
Thiazide and thiazide-like diuretics associated with improved cardiovascular and renal outcomes for chronic kidney disease patients
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasingly pressing global health issue due to its strong link to serious complications such as end stage renal disease (ESRD), cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality.1 Over the last few decades, its impact has become more severe, moving from 27th to 18th on the...
Editorial
Thiazide diuretics in chronic kidney disease: Is there still a role?
“The young physician starts life with 20 drugs for each disease, and the old physician ends life with one drug for 20 diseases.” — William Osler
Hypertension is both a cause and consequence of chronic kidney disease (CKD). As such, the prevalence of hypertension is high among CKD patients and...
Editorial
Micronutrients and kidney health
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a structural and functional disorder of the kidney caused by many diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and glomerular disease.1 There are many factors that contribute to the development and progression of CKD, and often, we do not look at the exposure of heavy metals...
Original Article
Association between lower phase angle and chronic kidney disease progression in type 2 diabetes patients
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global public health problem with an estimated prevalence of 13.4%.1 One of the key drivers of the global increase in CKD is the rising prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM).1 CKD affects about 25–40% of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).2 A few...
Letter to the Editor
Association between self-care and chronic kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Dear Editor,
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the key complications occurring in 25–40% of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).1 Our earlier study also showed that CKD was present in 53% of patients with T2DM recruited from a secondary care diabetes centre and primary care polyclinic...
Original Article
Identifying high-risk hospitalised chronic kidney disease patient using electronic health records for serious illness conversation
In-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients is shown to have lower survival1 and a higher proportion of survivors on maintenance haemodialysis were discharged to skilled nursing facilities.2 Despite that, haemodialysis patients still preferred CPR during cardiac arrest3 and there are lower do-not-resuscitate orders for the...
Original Article
Potentiation of Acetylcholine-induced Smooth Muscle Contraction in Rat Ileum by Lead
It is known that exposure of animals and humans to heavy metals such as lead can result in neurological dysfunction. Pharmacodynamic effects of lead (Pb++) on tension of smooth muscles, interaction with catecholaminergic function and neuromuscular transmission have been described.
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Review Article
Retardation of Kidney Failure – Applying Principles to Practice
By 2010 there will be more than 2 million patients worldwide on maintenance dialysis, a 400% increase in 20 years.1 This increase, occurring predominantly in developing nations, is being driven especially by a worldwide increase in the incidence of diabetes, and is too great to be offset by increased...
Original Article
Magnesium, Zinc, Copper, Manganese, and Selenium Levels in Postmenopausal Women with Osteoporosis. Can Magnesium Play a Key Role in Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a condition in which an increased risk of fracture takes place due to a reduction of bone mineral content. It occurs as a result of an imbalance between bone formation and bone resorption.
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Original Article
Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Bowen’s Disease of the Skin in Singapore
Skin cancer is the seventh most common cancer in Singapore.1 Koh et al2 reported a total of 1407 squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) occurring in the Asian population of Singapore using data obtained from the Singapore Cancer Registry over a 30-year period between 1968 and 1997. Tan et al3 reported...
Images in Medicine
Chronic Truncal Plaques and Palmoplantar Keratotic Lesions in an Elderly Man
A 70-year-old gentleman with a significant past history of using traditional medication presented to our clinic with multiple dysplastic lesions of varying severity on the covered areas of his chest and back and ketatotic lesions on his palms and soles for 2 years. We present 3 clinical photographs and...
Original Article
National Health Survey on the Prevalence of Urinary Abnormalities in the Population: then and now (1975 to 2012)
In the planning of a tuberculosis prevalence survey in Singapore in 1975, it was decided to include a urine examination of the respondents using Labstix (Ames Company, Elkhart, Indiana, USA). Respondents found to have proteinuria, haematuria or both in the examination centres were then referred to the Department of...
Original Article
Kidney Cancer and Diabetes Mellitus: A Population-Based Case-Control Study in Taiwan
Kidney cancer accounts for 3% to 4% of all cancers. In a systematic review by Mathew and et al,2 the incidence of kidney cancer was the highest in France (16.1 per 100,000
man-years) and the lowest in India (0.9 per 100,000 woman-years) during 1988 to 1992. A trend analysis in...
Letter to the Editor
Empagliflozin-induced severe osmotic nephrosis and acute renal injury in advanced chronic kidney disease
Diabetic kidney disease remains a significant disease burden globally and is associated with increased medical costs once chronic kidney disease (CKD) ensues. Therefore, optimisation of CKD management through glycaemic control and albuminuria reduction are key strategies for retarding renal deterioration. Sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors are a new class...