Relationship between handgrip strength and timed up-and-go test on hospitalization costs in older adults: a population-based study.

Background: Weak handgrip strength and slow timed up-and-go (TUG) time are known risk factors for hospitalization among older adults; however, few studies have investigated the relationships between these physical tests and future hospitalization costs.

Methods: We used data from 13,613 participants in the population-based Singapore Chinese Health Study who underwent assessment for handgrip strength and TUG time at a mean age of 74 years. Hospitalization costs for the subsequent year, among those who survived for at least one year thereafter, were ascertained via linkage with administrative healthcare finance data.

A scalable approach for critical care data extraction and analysis in an academic medical center.

Background: Electronic health records are a valuable asset for research, but their use is challenging due to inconsistencies of records, heterogeneous formats and the distribution over multiple, non-integrated information systems. Hence, specialized health data engineering and data science expertise are required to enable research. To facilitate secondary use of clinical routine data collected in our intensive care wards, we developed a scalable approach, consisting of cohort generation, variable filtering and data extraction steps.

Intraovarian platelet-rich plasma injection and IVF outcomes in patients with poor ovarian response: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Study Question: Does platelet-rich plasma (PRP) intraovarian injection increase the number of retrieved oocytes in successive ovarian punctions among patients with poor ovarian reserve (POR)?

Summary Answer: The injection of PRP increases the number of retrieved oocytes without increasing the quality of developed blastocysts.

What Is Known Already: Management of women with reduced ovarian response to stimulation is one of the significant challenges in reproductive medicine. Recently, PRP treatment has been proposed as an adjunct in assisted reproduction technology, with controversial results.

Widowhood and Mortality Among Chinese Older Adults in Singapore: The Roles of Gender and Perceived Social Support.

Objectives: Although the association between widowhood and mortality is well established, the impact of widowhood on mortality could differ by social support, gender, and widowhood duration. We studied the association between widowhood and mortality among older Chinese adults in Singapore and analyzed how social support, gender, and widowhood duration may modify this association.

Methods: We used data from 15,858 participants aged 61-96 years from the third follow-up of the population-based Singapore Chinese Health Study in 2014-2016.

Factors associated with depression across age groups of older adults: The Singapore Chinese health study.

Objectives: We studied sociodemographic and health factors associated with depression across three age groups of community-dwelling older adults.

Methods/design: We used data from 16,785 participants from the third follow-up of the Singapore Chinese Health Study (mean age: 73, range: 61-96 years). We defined depression as having a score of ≥5 using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale.

Emergency hospital admissions among older adults living alone in the community.

Background: Among older adults, living alone is often associated with higher risk of Emergency Department (ED) admissions. However, older adults living alone are very heterogeneous in terms of health. As more older adults choose to live independently, it remains unclear if the association between living alone and ED admissions is moderated by health status.

Correlation between plasmatic progesterone, endometrial receptivity genetic assay and implantation rates in frozen-thawed transferred euploid embryos. A multivariate analysis.

Objective: To ascertain the predictive value of different parameters to determine endometrial receptivity among assisted reproduction treatments in which single embryo transfer of frozen-thawed euploid blastocysts are performed.

Study Design: Observational study involving 104 patients recruited between September.2018 and June.

Social Disconnection and Living Arrangements among Older Adults: The Singapore Chinese Health Study.

Introduction: Although living alone is associated with social disconnection, older adults could be socially disconnected despite living with others. Understanding the factors associated with social disconnection by living arrangement could help identify vulnerable older adults in the community. We examined the sociodemographic and health factors associated with social disconnection among two groups of older adults: those living alone and those living with others.

Predictive value of hyperglycosylated human chorionic gonadotropin for pregnancy outcomes in threatened abortion in first-trimester viable pregnancies.

Background: To investigate the value of a single determination of hyperglycosylated hCG (hCG-H) for predicting the clinical outcome of patients with threatened abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Methods: Prospective study performed on 86 consecutively selected women with a diagnosis of threatened abortion and viable intrauterine pregnancy in the first trimester of pregnancy, conducted in two tertiary care hospitals. All patients underwent a single blood sample to determine hCG-H and total hCG serum levels and a transvaginal ultrasound 12-24 hours after diagnosis.

Functional Divergence of Mammalian TFAP2a and TFAP2b Transcription Factors for Bidirectional Sleep Control.

Sleep is a conserved behavioral state. Invertebrates typically show quiet sleep, whereas in mammals, sleep consists of periods of nonrapid-eye-movement sleep (NREMS) and REM sleep (REMS). We previously found that the transcription factor AP-2 promotes sleep in and In mammals, several paralogous AP-2 transcription factors exist.

Adiposity, Weight Change, and Risk of Cognitive Impairment: The Singapore Chinese Health Study.

Background: Few prospective studies with long duration of follow-up have assessed the relations of body mass index (BMI) and weight change with cognitive function, especially in Asian populations.

Objective: To investigate whether BMI and weight change in midlife are associated with cognitive impairment in old age.

Methods: We used data from 14,691 participants in the Singapore Chinese Health Study and computed weight change as the difference between weight reported at baseline (1993-1998) at mean age of 53.

Government pharmaceutical pricing strategies in the Asia-Pacific region: an overview.

: Governments in Asia Pacific (APAC) are increasingly using pharmaceutical pricing strategies to contain rising healthcare costs. The objective of this narrative review is to discuss formal pricing strategies for reimbursed prescription medication in APAC, supported by relevant examples of implementation differences across countries. In the discussion section, we examine key advantages and disadvantages of each strategy.

Stent-graft deployment for aortic rupture after stenting for aortic recoarctation.

We present the case of a 62-year-old woman who presented with recoarctation and then experienced rupture of the aorta and severe clinical deterioration after a stent was deployed. She was treated immediately by intrastent deployment of a stent-graft, which resolved the extremely serious situation.

[Percutaneous closure of complex fistula between the internal mammary artery and a lobar branch of a pulmonary artery].

A through review of the literature identified only 20 reported cases of fistula involving the internal mammary (internal thoracic) artery and a lobar branch of a pulmonary artery. Surgical closure was frequently done to avoid complications associated with this anomaly. We report the first patient in whom percutaneous treatment was accomplished with a combined technique involving an Amplatzer Duct Occluder device and coils.

[Occlusion of the first septal branch with microcoils in a patient with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy].

Nonsurgical septal reduction by induced septal infarction is one of the management options in the treatment of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. Good immediate and long-term clinical and hemodynamic results have been reported with this technique for occlusion of the first septal branch of the anterior descending coronary artery followed by ethanol infusion. This is the first report of a case in which nonsurgical septal reduction with microcoils has been attempted.

Brugada syndrome in a patient with accessory pathway.

Brugada syndrome in a patient with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. We report a 32-year-old man with orthodromic atrioventricular (AV) reciprocating tachycardia using a right posterior accessory pathway. However, his ECG showed ST segment elevation in leads V1 to V3.

Prognosis of patients with a first episode of sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia.

Aims: To evaluate the cardiac mortality in patients suffering from a first episode of sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (SMVT).

Methods: 100 patients less than 75 years old were evaluated during a 50-month follow-up period. Patients were classified into four groups: myocardial infarction, dilated cardiomyopathy, normal heart and miscellany.

[Exercise-induced atrioventricular block. Significance of the ischemic component. Report of 4 new cases].

We report four new cases of exercise-induced atrio-ventricular block (appearing during treadmill exercise testing). The mechanism was ischemia in two patients and the conduction disturbance disappeared after coronary artery bypass grafting. The literature on this matter is reviewed.

[Experience with Palmaz stent in pulmonary branch stenosis].

Introduction And Objectives: Since 1989, the balloon expandable Palmaz stent (Johnson & Johnson Interventional Systems) has been used for the treatment of congenital heart disease. This study reports the results and the technique used for its implantation in native and post surgical retraction pulmonary branch stenosis.

Materials And Methods: From february 1995 to june 1996, we have performed this technique in 11 symptomatic children/adolescents with pulmonary branch stenosis, the mean age was 11 +/- 2 years.

[Late reopening of patent ductus arteriosus after complete closure with the Rashkind prosthesis. Possible traumatic origin].

We report the case of a symptomatic adult with an occluded persistent duct with a transcatheter proceeding using a Rashkind prosthesis. After a month of follow up the color-coded Doppler-flow echocardiogram did not show residual shunt, posteriorly the patient's symptoms disappeared and the left ventricular dimensions were reduced. At the thirteen month of follow-up, the patient had an accident while working, falling down from a scaffold.

[Syncope associated with glossopharyngeal neuralgia and parapharyngeal tumor].

The reflex-induced cardiovascular syncope is rarely associated with facial neuralgia and neck neoplasms. We report the case of a male with vasopressor and cardioinhibitor syncopes, despite the implantation of a pacemaker. Because of a glossopharyngeal neuralgia, a neoplasm of the left parapharyngeal fossae is diagnosed.

[Congenital stenosis of pulmonary veins in the adult].

We report a case of congenital bilateral pulmonary vein stenosis associated with a double-chambered right ventricle, ventricular septal defect and persistence of the ductus arteriosus in a 29 year-old female. The angiographic, echocardiographic and surgical findings are discussed. A precise diagnosis, the utility of the echocardiography and the surgical correction of this type of ostial stenosis is also reported.

[Thrombocytosis and coronary disease. Report of a case].

We report the case of a young male with an inferior myocardial infarction who was treated with fibrinolytic agents and displayed a good evolution. The only cardiovascular risk factor that this patient had was an idiopathic thrombocytosis with abnormal platelet hyperreactivity tests. The angiogram showed an eccentric lesion of 60% in the left main coronary artery.

Intermittent aortic regurgitation following aortic valve replacement.

Intermittent aortic regurgitation is an unusual complication following a mechanical prosthesis replacement in the early postoperative period. Arterial pressure recording and echocardiographic assessment were enough to diagnose the prosthetic dysfunction. Reexploration of the valve confirmed the dysfunction, which was caused by a pannus of previous aortic valve replacement with the pulmonary valve.