Radiotherapy resources in the Philippines: A 2022 update.

Background: Cancer is the third leading cause of death in the Philippines. Radiotherapy (RT) is integral to the treatment and palliation of cancer. Therefore, RT resources across the country must be surveyed and optimized.

Systematic review of intraoperative radiation therapy for head and neck cancer.

Multidisciplinary treatments with surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy are the cornerstones in the management of locally advanced head and neck malignancies. In most cases, radiation is delivered via external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT), on the other hand, is the delivery of precise doses of radiation to selected target volumes within the exposed surgical field while at the operating room.

Unplanned Excision of Soft Tissue Sarcomas of the Extremities in a Low-to-Middle-Income Country.

Background: Outcomes of unplanned excisions of extremity soft tissue sarcomas (STSE) range from poor to even superior compared with planned excisions in developed countries. However, little is known regarding outcomes in low-to-middle-income countries. This study aimed to determine whether definitively treated STSE patients with a previous unplanned excision have poorer oncologic outcomes compared with those with planned excisions.

Automatic segmentation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma on CT images using efficient UNet-2.5D ensemble with semi-supervised pretext task pretraining.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is primarily treated with radiation therapy. Accurate delineation of target volumes and organs at risk is important. However, manual delineation is time-consuming, variable, and subjective depending on the experience of the radiation oncologist.

Geographic Distribution of Cancer Care Providers in the Philippines.

Purpose: In the Philippines, a lower middle-income country in Southeast Asia, 6 of 10 Filipinos die without seeing a doctor. To ensure universal access to cancer care, providers must be equitably distributed. Therefore, we evaluated the distribution of oncologists across all 17 regions in the Philippines.

Predictors of mortality among inpatients with COVID-19 infection in a tertiary referral center in the Philippines.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of mortality and describe laboratory trends among adults with confirmed COVID-19.

Methods: The medical records of adult patients admitted to a referral hospital with COVID-19 were retrospectively reviewed. Demographic and clinical characteristics, and laboratory parameters, were compared between survivors and non-survivors.

Clinical characteristics of patients with asymptomatic and symptomatic COVID-19 admitted to a tertiary referral centre in the Philippines.

Objectives: To describe the clinical profile and outcomes of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) across the spectrum of disease severity.

Methods: This retrospective study included adult patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection admitted to a referral hospital. Descriptive statistics, tests for trend, Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank test were used to compare characteristics and outcomes across disease severity categories.

Reducing Health Effects on Deceit in Heterosexual Sexual-Affective Relationships: The Impact of the Preventive Socialization Program (PSP).

Health research has provided robust evidence of the negative effects caused by facing deceit in sexual-affective relationships. In this regard, several analyses have been conducted addressing psychological, family therapies, and educational interventions to improve marital problems. On the other hand, many investigations have addressed how the preventive socialization program (PSP), framed on the analysis of a dominant coercive discourse that is connected with the promotion of specific traditional masculine models, impacts on young people's relationships free of violence.

Chest x-ray findings and temporal changes among adult patients with COVID-19 admitted in a tertiary referral center.

Purpose: To describe the radiographic findings of hospitalized adult Filipino COVID-19 patients on serial chest x-ray imaging.

Method: We performed a retrospective review of records and chest x-rays of eligible adult Filipinos with confirmed COVID-19 admitted from 1 March 2020 to 31 July 2020. Demographics, clinical outcomes, and chest radiographic findings were recorded.

Intraoperative radiotherapy for glioblastoma: A systematic review of techniques and outcomes.

Background: Despite multimodality treatment, the prognosis of glioblastoma (GBM) has remained poor. Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) offers additional local control by directly applying a radiation source to the resection margin, where most recurrences occur.

Methods: We performed a systematic review on the oncologic outcomes and toxicities of IORT for GBM in the era of modern external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and chemotherapy with temozolamide.

High TB burden and low notification rates in the Philippines: The 2016 national TB prevalence survey.

Setting: The 3rd national tuberculosis (TB) survey in the Philippines in 2007 reported a significant decline in the prevalence of TB. Since then, more significant investments for TB control have been made, yet TB burden estimates from routine surveillance data remain relatively stable.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB in the Philippines amongst individuals aged ≥15 years in 2016.

Intravenous methylprednisolone induces rapid improvement in non-infectious uveitis: a multicentre study of 112 patients.

Objectives: Rapid control of intraocular inflammation in non-infectious uveitis (NIU) is mandatory to avoid irreversible structural and functional damage. In this study, we assessed the efficacy and safety of intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) pulses in the treatment of NIU.

Methods: A retrospective case series of 112 patients who received IVMP for the treatment of NIU, either isolated or associated with different underlying diseases, was studied.

Limb and component alignment after total knee arthroplasty comparing 28 consecutive iAssist and 28 conventional TKAs: A prospective study.

Background: The objective of this study was to assess limb and component alignment after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) on long leg X-rays and to compare the use of iAssist, an accelerometric based computer-assisted device (CAD), with conventional jigs.

Methods: We prospectively recruited 56 consecutive patients undergoing primary unilateral TKA by a single surgeon into this study. In the first 28 patients iAssist navigation system was utilized and in the following 28 conventional jigs were used.

Prevalence of Urolithiasis by Ultrasonography Among Patients with Gout: A Cross-Sectional Study from the UP-Philippine General Hospital.

Context: While urolithiasis is epidemiologically and mechanistically linked to gout, urologic stone disease is not actively investigated in gout patients. Prevalence estimates on the coexistence of urolithiasis in gout have mostly relied on clinical history alone.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of urolithiasis among adult Filipinos with primary gout through clinical history and ultrasonography.

Kinetics of Low Temperature Polyester Dyeing with High Molecular Weight Disperse Dyes by Solvent Microemulsion and AgroSourced Auxiliaries.

This work focused on the evaluation of the kinetics of dyeing polyester fabrics with high molecular weight disperse dyes, at low temperature by solvent microemulsion. This study also compared the effect of two non-toxic agro-sourced auxiliaries (-vanillin and coumarin) using a non-toxic organic solvent. A dyeing bath consisting of a micro-emulsion system involving a small proportion of -butyl acetate was used, and the kinetics of dyeing were analysed at four temperatures (83, 90, 95 and 100 °C).

Vascular ultrasound in pediatrics: utility and application of location and measurement of jugular and femoral vessels.

Objective: To measure the depth (D ) and diameter (D ) of the internal jugular vein (IJV), femoral vein (FV), and femoral artery (FA) in pediatric patients to evaluate the clinical implications.

Methods: This study included 125 pediatric patients. All of them underwent bilateral ultrasound study of vessels and were classified into three groups based on anthropometric and demographic parameters.

The Spanish Adaptation of the Palliative Performance Scale (Version 2) Among Cancer Patients at the End of Life: Psychometric Properties.

Background: Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) is a reliable tool to assess performance status in cancer patients receiving palliative care (PC). Spanish validated and culturally adapted tools are needed.

Objectives: The objectives are to develop PPS translation and cross-cultural adaptation into Spanish and to assess its psychometric properties.

Study of association of CTLA4 gene variants to non-anterior uveitis.

This study was undertaken to investigate the possible genetic association of functional CTLA4 polymorphisms with susceptibility to non-anterior uveitis. Four hundred and seventeen patients with endogenous non-anterior uveitis and 1517 healthy controls of Spanish Caucasian origin were genotyped for the CTLA4 polymorphisms rs733618, rs5742909 and rs231775, using predesigned TaqMan(©) allele discrimination assays. PLINK software was used for the statistical analyses.