Public healthcare institutions (PHIs) in Singapore have a range of policies and guidelines for the management of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED)...

Ovarian cancer is the most common gynaecological malignancy with over 5000 new cases diagnosed every year in the UK and 22 000 in the...

Since the discovery of X-rays over a century ago, radiology has played a pivotal role in rheumatology and diseases of the joints. The innovations...

Doran, in 1903, reported the first case of adrenal cyst described by Greiselius in 1670. It was not until 1966 that Foster reported the...

The multiply injured patient presents a challenge to even the most experienced surgeon. These patients often present in shock and require a rapid diagnostic...

Long-term central venous access is an important part of modern medical practice, especially in the haematology and oncology units. Central venous (CV) catheters are...

Despite intensive research and intervention, trauma continues to be the leading cause of death during the first three decades of life in the USA,...

Castleman’s disease (CD) was first proposed by Castleman in 1954. It is usually found in the mediastinum, but other sites have been described. This article...

On a global basis, the use of ultrasonography to assist clinicians in obtaining timely diagnoses in abdominal trauma is not particularly new. The first...

BCG vaccines are live vaccines derived from a strain of Mycobacterium bovis that was attenuated by Calmette and Guerin at the Pasteur Institute in...

Percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) is a well-established technique in the armamentarium of an interventional radiologist when dealing with urinary obstruction. It provides temporary relief in...

Livedoid vasculitis is a clinicopathological entity that has variously been referred to as atrophie blanche, livedoid vasculopathy or segmental hyalinising vasculitis. It presents with...

Technology in sonography has advanced tremendously in recent years, contributing to improvements in clinical applications for prenatal diagnosis and fetal therapy. These include transvaginal...

A postnatal finding of intracranial haemorrhage carries potential medico-legal implications for the obstetrician. However, one cannot exclusively attribute this to birth trauma. This article is...

Pyriform sinus fistula is a developmental abnormality of the 3rd or 4th branchial pouch. It usually presents in childhood as acute inflammatory swelling of...

Optimal chromosome preparation is a function of many factors. These include cell density culture initiation, optimal time for harvest, concentration and exposure duration to...

The Singapore shoreline has changed significantly over the last 30 years, but the stonefish (Synanceia sp.) continues to inhabit our native waters and human...

Acquired thoracic spinal canal stenosis is an uncommon condition compared to myelopathy and radiculopathy frequently seen in the cervical and lumbar spine, respectively. Because...

Delusional parasitosis (DP), or delusional infestation, is a condition in which a person has the unshakeable and mistaken belief of being infested with parasites....

Chickenpox (varicella) in adults can be severe. It is frequently associated with pneumonia and immunosuppression as well as increased mortality rates. This article is available...

Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) is an idiopathic disorder characterised by serous detachment of the macula, retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) detachment and areas of RPE...

Buprenorphine, more commonly known as Subutex (Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals), has been released in Singapore since 2002. Initially marketed as an opiate substitute to help...

Photodynamic therapy using verteporfin (Visudyne, Novartis Ophthalmics) has been proven safe and effective for the treatment of predominantly classic, age-related macular degeneration (AMD)-related subfoveal...

Duodenal diverticula were reported for the first time by Chomel in 1710. 1 They can be classified as either congenital or acquired and intraluminal...

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Liver abscess has been recognised since the time of Hippocrates. The first report on liver abscess was published by Bright in 1836.1 However, reports...

Aspergillosis of the central nervous system (CNS) is an uncommon infection, mainly occurring in immunocompromised patients. It may present in several forms: meningitis, mycotic...

Most patients with acute ischaemic stroke have arterial thrombi that occlude extra- or intracranial vessels. Intravenously administered tissue plasminogen activator (IV-TPA) induces thrombolysis and...

While the surgical procedure of placing dental implants may seem technically simple, it is not straightforward and requires careful preoperative planning. This article is available...

Dissecting aneurysms of the vertebral artery often present with subarachnoid haemorrhage.1 A high mortality occurs with rupture.2 Currently, the treatment options for vertebral artery...

Pancreatic cancer is notoriously known to be diagnosed in the later stages and this carries with it a poor prognosis. In particular, tumours involving...

In a previous study,1 we reported that patients who had decreased proteinuria also had improvement in renal function. Three out of the 8 patients...

Patients suffering from visual field defects caused by optic nerve or post-chiasmatic injury commonly experience many limitations in their daily activities. The generally accepted...

Holoproscencephaly (HPE) is an uncommon congenital developmental defect of the forebrain structures to divide into separate hemispheres and ventricles during embryogenesis. The prevalence rate...

Renal infarction is a rare disease. Domanovits et al reported an incidence rate of 0.007% (17/248,842) during a study period of 45 months. This article...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterised by spinal and cortical motor neuron degeneration. Although electro myography, muscle biopsy and motor...

Critical limb ischaemia (CLI) is the most severe form of peripheral vascular disease where there is inadequate blood flow to a limb to maintain...

Neovascularisation of the iris is associated with many ischaemia retinal disorders and elevated levels of the vascular endothelial growth factor is found in patients...

The occurrence of an adrenal mass in patients with an underlying malignancy may represent distant metastases, precluding curative surgical resection of the primary malignancy....

Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most common cyanotic congenital heart disease with an incidence of approximately 0.5/1000 live births (5% to 7% of...

Arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) are created for haemodialysis in patients with end-stage renal failure. While AVF is a lifeline for these patients, its creation is...

In recent years, Singapore has seen a resurgence of dengue fever despite the seemingly successful implementation of a nationwide Aedes mosquito control programme,1 culminating...

The auditory apparatus and vestibular part of the inner ear are often included in the radiation field treatment of patients with head and neck...

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...

Severe cases of influenza have traditionally generated much interest. The pandemic of 1957 provided instructive materials on the subject, with publications on the pulmonary...

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

Chronic Achilles tendon rupture is a disabling condition resulting in ankle pain, weakened ankle plantarflexion and abnormal gait. Management of chronic ruptures is technically...

Invasive fungal infections (IFI) are associated with a high mortality in liver transplant recipients. The incidence of fungal infections after liver transplantation ranges from...

Mammogram has been the gold standard for breast cancer screening and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has been advocated for screening of high- risk individuals....