Publications by authors named "Andrew Ho"

Purpose: Secondhand smoke significantly increases the risk of cerebrovascular diseases, prompting recent public smoking bans. We aimed to ascertain the effects of smoke-free legislation on stroke incidence and mortality.

Methods: We systematically searched Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus up to August 13, 2023, for studies reporting changes in stroke incidence following partial or comprehensive smoking bans.

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Introduction: The last national emergency department (ED) inventory was performed in 2007, and major changes in population demographics, healthcare needs and infrastructure have since occurred. We sought to obtain an updated inventory of EDs in Singapore to identify and describe changes in their characteristics and capabilities across the years.

Methods: In 2021, the National Emergency Department Inventories (NEDI) instrument was administered to the leadership of Singapore EDs.

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Background And Purpose: Tenecteplase is a thrombolytic agent with pharmacological advantages over alteplase and has been shown to be noninferior to alteplase for acute ischemic stroke in randomized trials. However, evidence pertaining to the safety and efficacy of tenecteplase in patients from different ethnic groups is lacking. The aim of this systematic review and metaanalysis was to investigate ethnicity-specific differences in the safety and efficacy of tenecteplase versus alteplase in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

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Background: Cardiocerebral infarction (CCI), which is concomitant with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and acute ischemic stroke (AIS), is a rare but severe presentation. However, there are few data on CCI, and the treatment options are uncertain. We investigated the characteristics and outcomes of CCI compared with AMI or AIS alone.

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The clotting system has evolved as an adaptive mechanism to prevent blood loss during vascular damage. However, the intricate nature of the clotting cascade and the complexities of human life can sometimes lead to the unnatural activation of this delicate cascade. This can result in blood clot formation within the cardiovascular system, contributing to a wide range of pathological conditions.

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Background: The administration of intravenous cangrelor at reperfusion achieves faster onset of platelet P2Y12 inhibition than oral ticagrelor and has been shown to reduce myocardial infarction (MI) size in the preclinical setting. We hypothesized that the administration of cangrelor at reperfusion will reduce MI size and prevent microvascular obstruction in patients with ST-segment-elevation MI undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Methods: This was a phase 2, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted between November 2017 to November 2021 in 6 cardiac centers in Singapore.

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Objective: The Score for Emergency Risk Prediction (SERP) is a novel mortality risk prediction score which leverages machine learning in supporting triage decisions. In its derivation study, SERP-2d, SERP-7d and SERP-30d demonstrated good predictive performance for 2-day, 7-day and 30-day mortality. However, the dataset used had significant class imbalance.

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A growing number out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) registries have been developed across the globe. A few of these are national, while others cover larger geographical regions. These registries have common objectives; continuous quality improvement, epidemiological research and providing infrastructure for clinical trials.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores the connection between socioeconomic status (SES) and long-term survival rates after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in Singapore, using the Singapore Housing Index (SHI) as a measurement tool.
  • Despite analyzing data from 659 cases and employing advanced modeling techniques, the findings indicate no significant relationship between SHI and survival outcomes.
  • The authors suggest that the lack of association might stem from the availability of affordable healthcare for various socioeconomic groups in Singapore.*
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Article Synopsis
  • The effectiveness of stroke care relies heavily on efficient prehospital systems, as timely intervention is critical for positive patient outcomes.
  • Singapore's prehospital stroke system has been shaped by its urban environment and rising stroke incidence, adapting to local challenges.
  • The review highlights the current status, identifies improvement areas, and suggests innovations for the future of prehospital stroke care in Singapore.
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NLRP3 is an intracellular sensor protein that detects a broad range of danger signals and environmental insults. Its activation results in a protective pro-inflammatory response designed to impair pathogens and repair tissue damage via the formation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Assembly of the NLRP3 inflammasome leads to caspase 1-dependent secretory release of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 as well as to gasdermin d-mediated pyroptotic cell death.

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Article Synopsis
  • * ERO1A depletion in SEPN1 knockout cells enhances ER redox balance, improves mitochondrial function, and combats diaphragmatic weakness in mice, while ERO1A knockout shows beneficial effects on ER stress and MAM functionality.
  • * ERO1A overexpression is observed in muscle biopsies from SEPN1-RM patients, and the ER stress inhibitor tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) improves bio
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Article Synopsis
  • Survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) show a significantly higher risk of subsequent acute myocardial infarction (AMI), with standardized incidence ratios suggesting a rate nearly five times that of the general population.
  • Age and a history of prior AMI are key predictors of future AMI risk among OHCA survivors, while initial shockable rhythm does not influence this risk.
  • Additionally, those who experience AMI after OHCA face a greater risk of mortality, highlighting the need for targeted preventive measures like managing cardiovascular risk factors in this patient group.
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Aim: For patients who present to the emergency departments (ED) with undifferentiated chest pain, the risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) may be underestimated in low-HEART score patients. We aimed to identify characteristics of patients who were classified as low risk by HEART score but subsequently developed MACE at 6 weeks.

Methods: We studied a multiethnic cohort of patients who presented with chest pain arousing suspicion of acute coronary syndrome to EDs in the Netherlands and Singapore.

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Background: We examined the association between smoke-free laws implemented in the outdoors and the common areas of residential apartment blocks and reported acute myocardial infarctions (AMI) in Singapore.

Methods: We used an interrupted time-series design and seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average models to examine the effect of the smoke-free law extensions in 2013 (common areas of residential blocks, covered pedestrian linkways, overhead bridges and within 5 m of bus stops), 2016 (parks) and 2017 (educational institutions, buses and taxis) on the monthly incidence rate of AMIs per 1 000 000 population.

Results: We included 133 868 AMI reports from January 2010 to December 2019.

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Introduction: High-quality epidemiological data on hemorrhagic stroke (HS) and its subtypes, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), remains limited in Asian ethnicities. We investigated the trends in HS incidence and 30-day mortality from 2005 to 2019 in a multi-ethnic Asian population from a national registry.

Patients And Methods: Data on all stroke cases from the Singapore Stroke Registry from 2005 to 2019 were collected.

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Aim: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) with an initial non-shockable rhythm is the predominant form of OHCA in adults. We evaluated its 10-year trends in epidemiology and management in Singapore.

Methods: Using the national OHCA registry we studied the trends of 20,844 Emergency Medical Services-attended adult OHCA from April 2010 to December 2019.

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Study Objective: Sterile gloves are widely used during wound repair procedures in Emergency Departments (ED) worldwide. It is unclear whether sterile gloves protect against postoperative wound infections. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine if sterile gloves offer significant protection against wound infections compared to clean gloves for wound repair in the ED.

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Our scoping review provides a comprehensive analysis of the landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in prehospital emergency care (PEC). It contributes to the field by highlighting the most studied AI applications and identifying the most common methodological approaches across 106 included studies. The findings indicate a promising future for AI in PEC, with many unique use cases, such as prognostication, demand prediction, resource optimization, and the Internet of Things continuous monitoring systems.

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COVID-19 patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) benefit from high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen therapy. However, delays in initiating invasive ventilation after HFNC failure are associated with poorer outcomes. The respiratory oxygenation (ROX) index, combining SpO/FiO and respiratory rate, can predict HFNC failure.

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Pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma often relapse with chemotherapy-resistant, incurable disease. Relapsed neuroblastomas harbor chemo-resistant mesenchymal tumor cells and increased expression/activity of the transcriptional co-regulator, the Yes-Associated Protein (YAP). Patients with relapsed neuroblastoma are often treated with immunotherapy such as the anti-GD2 antibody, dinutuximab, in combination with chemotherapy.

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Objective: We aimed to quantify the association of no-flow interval in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) with the odds of neurologically favorable survival and survival to hospital discharge/ 30th day. Our secondary aim was to explore futility thresholds to guide clinical decisions, such as prehospital termination of resuscitation.

Methods: All OHCAs from 2012 to 2017 in Singapore were extracted.

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