Editorial
Impact of pre-existing depression on severe COVID-19 outcomes
The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in 2019 had rapidly developed into a global pandemic, causing more than 6.8 million deaths and impacting the...
Commentary
Leveraging ChatGPT to aid patient education on coronary angiogram
Natural-language artificial intelligence (AI) is a promising technological advancement poised to revolutionise the delivery of healthcare.1 Traditionally, inclusion of technology in the augmentation of...
Letter to the Editor
Surgical margins assessment reduces re-excision rates in breast-conserving surgery
Dear Editor,
Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) followed by radiation therapy for breast cancer offers improved cosmetic results and comparable long-term survival rates as mastectomy.1 However,...
Original Article
Effects of electroconvulsive therapy on cognition and quality of life in schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder with a profound impact on patients, their families, caregivers and society. The global prevalence of lifetime schizophrenia is...
Editorial
Bridging electroconvulsive therapy in schizophrenia with cognition and quality of life
Schizophrenia is one of the most debilitating severe mental illnesses with significant impact,1 irrespective of culture or socioeconomic class.2 Over the decades, antipsychotic medication...
Editorial
Treating patients at home: A novel solution for old problems
Hospital-at-home (HaH) programmes deliver hospital-type treatments to patients located in their own homes, often in substitution for an acute inpatient admission or to support...
Letter to the Editor
Perception of disease, well-being and financial burden by patients with chronic hepatitis B: A self-reported assessment
Dear Editor,
Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection affects approximately 248 million individuals in the world1 and 3.6% of the Singapore population.2 Given the natural history...
Letter to the Editor
Psychosocial impact and treatment trends of hidradenitis suppurativa in Singapore
Dear Editor,
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a common disease with a prevalence of about 1%.1 Patients commonly suffer from pain, disfigurement and psychosocial embarrassment, and...
Review Article
Oral Tolerance: Mechanisms and Therapy of Autoimmune Diseases
Immunologic tolerance is a hallmark of the immune system whereby immune cells are tolerant of self antigen. Historically, this tolerance was thought to be...
Original Article
Clinical Predictors of Nephritis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Lupus nephritis is a common manifestation of lupus associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The use of cytotoxic agents has resulted in improved renal...
Others
The Current State of Multiple Sclerosis Genetic Research
It was Charcot (1868) who first made the formal pathological correlation between lesions in the central nervous system (CNS) and a disorder termed, ‘la...
Others
Active Management of a Patient with Endstage Pulmonary Emphysema Using Lung Volume Reduction Surgery and Intensive Rehabilitation
A 65-year-old Chinese man with a 30-pack year history of cigarette smoking was referred to our institution for further management of chronic obstructive pulmonary...
Review Article
Immunotherapy in Autoimmune Diseases
In the early 1700s, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, wife of the British ambassador to Turkey, introduced the practice of variolation against smallpox into Western...
Original Article
Measuring Health-related Quality of Life in Singapore: Normal Values for the English and Chinese SF-36 Health Survey
Advances in diagnosis and therapy in the second half of the 20th century have lead to impressive improvements in survival for patients with many...
Review Article
An Asian Perspective to the Problem of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is regarded as an important public health problem in many Caucasian populations. Much of the research on epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, genetic and molecular...
Others
Validity and Reliability of the EQ-5D Self-report Questionnaire in Chinese-speaking Patients with Rheumatic Diseases in Singapore
Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) refers to patients’ perceptions of their own functioning and well-being. HRQoL is increasingly being used as a primary or...
Original Article
Measuring Quality of Life in Chinese Cancer Patients: A New Version of the Functional Living Index for Cancer (Chinese)
Health-related quality of life (QOL) is recognised as an important aspect of patient care. In oncology studies, it may stand as the primary end-point....
Others
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...
Review Article
Epidemiology of Betel Quid Usage
Betel quid/areca nut use has been common in South and Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific region for a long time and is common...
Review Article
Clinical PET Imaging – An Asian Perspective
Positron emission tomography (PET) is distinct from other imaging modalities in its ability to probe the physiology and biochemistry of normal and abnormal tissues....
Original Article
Utility and Validity of the Self-administered SF-36: Findings From an Older Population
The shift towards broader health perspectives and the emphasis on patient preferences have led to the development of many health questionnaires and their inclusion...
Review Article
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%...
Review Article
Role of Urinary Screening Programmes in Children in the Prevention of Chronic Kidney Disease
Singapore has an estimated annual incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) of 158 per million population.1 However, the number of children who develop renal...
Commentary
Sociodemographic Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Public Health Education – A Comparison of Two Studies in Singapore
Public health education is a cornerstone in the primary prevention of chronic diseases. In the United States, for example, studies have shown that cardiovascular...
Original Article
Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of Singapore Malay and Tamil Versions of the EQ-5D
The EQ-5D is a widely used preference-based instrument (available in at least 60 language versions and used in more than 800 published studies to...
Original Article
Lack of Awareness amongst Community Patients with Diabetes and Diabetic Retinopathy: The Singapore Malay Eye Study
Diabetes is a major public health problem, and diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working-aged people.1 Previous studies have documented poor...
Original Article
Pain Prevalence in Singapore
Population studies on pain prevalence are useful in determining the impact that chronic pain has on the society. It draws the attention of healthcare...
Original Article
Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Acute Optic Neuritis in Singapore
Optic neuritis (ON) is an inflammatory, demyelinating condition affecting the optic nerves. In Western populations, ON is frequently associated with multiple sclerosis (MS).1 The...
Original Article
Staging of Benign Prostate Hyperplasia is Helpful in Patients with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Suggestive of Benign Prostate Hyperplasia
Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), one of the most common diseases of ageing men, affects the quality of life by interfering with normal daily activities...
Original Article
Psychological Symptoms in People Presenting for Weight Management
Multiple factors contribute to the genesis and maintenance of obesity which is a difficult condition to treat and weight loss is often not maintained....
Original Article
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) Patterns in Bariatric Surgical Practice and Response of OSA to Weight Loss after Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding (LAGB)
The incidence of OSA in severely obese Asians is poorly documented. This is also compounded by a varied racial profile across Asia. Singapore, with...
Review Article
Liver Transplantation in Asia: Past, Present and Future
Liver transplantation is the best treatment modality for patients with end-stage liver diseases. It has been landmarked as one of the most important advances...
Original Article
Are New Resuscitation Guidelines Better? Experience of an Asian Metropolitan Hospital
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a substantial public health burden that has poor prognosis. Patients who receive “good” and “high-quality” cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have...
Review Article
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...
Original Article
Measurement Properties of the Chinese Language Version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General in a Singaporean Population
Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an increasingly important concern in the care of cancer patients. In the approval of oncology drugs, the United...
Original Article
Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Singapore Cancer Patients
Worldwide, the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) by cancer patients is highly prevalent. For cancer specialists, knowledge on CAM use in their...
Original Article
Health-related Quality of Life is Associated with Diabetic Complications, but not with Short-term Diabetic Control in Primary Care
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a major chronic disease globally. With increasing life expectancy, long-term complications of diabetes mellitus leading to significant morbidity and...
Original Article
Quality of Life in Pathological Gamblers in a Multiethnic Asian Setting
Pathological gambling is categorized under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV-TR) as an impulse control disorder not elsewhere classified....
Original Article
The Health-Related Quality of Life of Junior Doctors
It is widely reported that junior doctors experience a large amount of work-related stress and fatigue. This has detrimental effects both on the well-being...
Original Article
Overcoming Barriers to Mammography Screening: A Quasi-randomised Pragmatic Trial in a Community-based Primary Care Setting
Breast cancer is the leading cancer among women in Singapore, accounting for 29% of all cancers occurring in women between 2006 and 2010. Evidence...
Original Article
Association of Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Social Support with Depressive Symptoms among the Elderly in Singapore
Depression in the elderly is a major public health issue. Associated morbidities such as higher risk of impairment in physical, mental and social functioning...