Publications by authors named "Choa G"

Background: Chest pain (CP) accounts for 5% of emergency department (ED) visits, unplanned hospitalisations and costly admissions. Conversely, outpatient evaluation requires multiple hospital visits and longer time to complete testing. Rapid access chest pain clinics (RACPCS) are established in the UK for timely, cost-effective CP assessment.

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Introduction: The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) has been widely used in health professions education since the 1970s. The global disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic restricted in-person assessments and medical educators globally sought alternative means to assess and certify students and trainees to meet the acute demand for health-care workers. One such solution was through virtual OSCE (vOSCE), which modified traditional in-person OSCE using videoconference platforms.

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In recent decades, medical education practices developed in Western countries have been widely adopted in non-Western countries. Problem-based Learning (PBL) was first developed in North America and it relies on Western educational and cultural values, thereby raising concerns about its 'lift and shift' to non-Western settings. This review systematically identified and interpretively synthesized studies on students' and teachers' experiences of PBL in non-Western medical schools.

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Recognising the growing importance of clinical leadership and entrepreneurship to implement innovative healthcare solutions, final year UK medical students developed a near-peer elective module for first- and second-year students. To date, five cohorts have completed the module and developed skills in the fields of medical technology, quality improvement, and leadership.

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Purpose: Accreditation is widely used by medical schools around the word to evaluate their curricula and educational processes, although its impacts on those involved in the 'frontline' of medical education receive little attention. This study systematically identified and synthesised qualitative studies that have explored medical teachers' and students' experiences of accreditation.

Methods: Four databases (Pubmed, EMBASE, ERIC, and PsychINFO) were searched for relevant published articles.

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Background: 'Exam recall' is a recognised phenomenon whereby students recall and record questions after leaving the examination hall. This poses two main problems. First, as these questions are only available to peers of the students who recall the questions, these individuals have an unfair advantage.

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Background: To test safety and activity of 3-weekly doses of docetaxel and a weekly dose of trastuzumab in women with HER2-overexpressing advanced breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: Forty-two women, median age 53 years (range 36-73 years), with HER2-overexpressing advanced breast cancer were enrolled in a study of docetaxel, 75 mg/m(2) q3w for 6 cycles, and trastuzumab, 4 mg/kg loading dose, 2 mg/kg weekly thereafter. Thirty-four patients (81%) had visceral metastatic involvement.

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We conducted a pilot phase II trial of trastuzumab administered concurrently with docetaxel in women with HER2-overexpressing advanced breast cancer. Twenty-five women with HER2-positive (3+ by immunohistochemistry = 16, 2+ = 9) metastatic breast cancer received docetaxel (75 mg/m every 3 weeks for 6 cycles) and trastuzumab (4 mg/kg loading dose, 2 mg/kg weekly thereafter). Twenty-three patients (92%) had visceral metastatic involvement.

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Cryoprostatectomy, the use of subzero temperatures to ablate prostate tissue gained favour in the 1960s because of its speed and lack of haemodynamic effects. It fell from use because the freezing process could not be monitored and this led to a high incidence of local complications. We have performed transrectal real time ultrasound in 12 patients undergoing cryoprostatectomy.

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Acupuncture with electrical stimulation effectively suppresses naloxone-induced morphine withdrawal in rats and reduces the plasma levels of adrenocorticotropin and thyroid stimulating hormone.

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A five years' experience of the care by general surgeons of patients with severe head injuries in a general surgical unit with inferior facilities was retrospectively reviewed. It was concluded that the mortality compared favourably with that in similar patients managed by neurosurgeons in specialized centres. The still inadequate understanding of primary diffuse brain damage in head injuries is suggested as the cause for this lack of significant improvement in results over the years.

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The effect of electro-acupuncture in the treatment of naloxone precipitated morphine withdrawal in mice was studied. Thirty minutes of acupuncture was enough to suppress withdrawal behaviors by more than 60%. Concomitant to the decrease of withdrawal behavior, there was a significant increase of brain beta-endorphin level in the acupunctured animals.

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