Managing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus via the Regulation of Gut Microbiota: A Chinese Medicine Perspective.

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by insulin resistance and inadequate insulin production. Given the increased frequency of T2DM and the health issues it can cause, there is an increasing need to develop alternative T2DM management strategies. One such approach is Chinese Medicine (CM), a complementary therapy widely used in T2DM treatment.

Prognostic factors for mortality due to pneumonia among adults from different age groups in Singapore and mortality predictions based on PSI and CURB-65.

Introduction: Pneumonia is associated with considerable mortality. However, there is limited information on age-specific prognostic factors for death from pneumonia.

Methods: Patients hospitalised with a diagnosis of pneumonia through the emergency department were stratified into three age groups: 18-64 years, 65-84 years and ≥ 85 years.

The risk of tuberculosis in SLE patients from an Asian tertiary hospital.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been associated with increased risk of tuberculosis (TB). However, little is known about the extent and risk factors for TB among Asian patient with SLE. We aimed to assess the rate of TB in patients with SLE, and investigate the risk of SLE on TB development using hospital administrative database.

The effect of chronic liver disease on venous thromboembolism among medically managed patients in Singapore General Hospital.

Background: Chronic liver disease (CLD) has been suggested to be associated with venous thromboembolism (VTE) in western populations. However, little is known about the risk effects of CLD on VTE among Asians.

Objective: To compute the prevalence of VTE among hospitalised Asian patients, and to evaluate the pattern and scale of risk effects of CLD on VTE occurrence.

[Standardized management of acupuncture-moxibustion clinic in Singapore General Hospital].

The standardized management of acupuncture-moxibustion in Singapore General Hospital is introduced. With gradual improvement of outpatient infrastructure, re-training of medical staff, strict disinfection of manipulation, periodical inspection of medical instruments, unified management of writing, saving and processing in medical records and public education of TCM knowledge, a standardized management system in accordance with modernized hospital is gradually established. As a result, efficiency and quality of clinical treatment is continuously increasing.

The burden of diabetes mellitus in elderly patients from an Asian tertiary hospital.

Summary: Diabetes mellitus (DM) has been declared as a global public health threat to society. However, the burden of the disease in elderly Asian patients has not been described. The aim of the study is to assess the disease burden of DM and its associated adverse outcomes in elderly patients from an Asian hospital using the hospital inpatient database.

Berberine-induced haemolysis revisited: safety of Rhizoma coptidis and Cortex phellodendri in chronic haematological diseases.

Two commonly used berberine-containing Chinese herbs, Rhizoma coptidis (RC) and Cortex phellodendri (CP), have been banned in Singapore for the past three decades due to implication of berberine in aggravating jaundice and kernicterus in neonates with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. Here we conducted a single arm, phase I/II clinical study on Chinese herbal medicine for patients with chronic cytopenic haematological conditions and we analysed a subset of 20 patients who also had RC, CP or both in their herbal concoction. We found no organ toxicity or electrolyte imbalance in these 20 patients where RC was administered for 1055 patient-days and CP for 1252 patient-days.

Bringing generalists into the hospital: outcomes of a family medicine hospitalist model in Singapore.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess a newly introduced hospitalist care model in a Singapore hospital. Clinical outcomes of the family medicine hospitalists program were compared with the traditional specialists-based model using the hospital's administrative database.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of hospital discharge database for patients cared for by family medicine hospitalists and specialists in 2008.

Treatment of chronic hepatitis C in patients with end-stage renal disease and hemophilia--the Singapore experience.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the response to treatment with interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) in patients with chronic hepatitis C who had end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or hemophilia in Singapore.

Methods: Treatment-naive hepatitis patients with ESRD or hemophilia were given IFN-alpha(2a) 3 million units three times per week for 12 months in an open-label study. Hepatitis C virus RNA was determined before treatment, at the end of treatment and 6 months thereafter.

Simple clinical prognostic model for hepatocellular carcinoma in developing countries and its validation.

Purpose: More than 80% of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) worldwide occur in developing countries, especially in Asia. It often presents at an advanced stage beyond treatment. In this circumstance, a simple prognostic model is useful.

Molecular characterization of hepatitis B virus surface antigen mutants in Singapore patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatitis B virus carriers negative for HBsAg but positive for anti-HBs and anti-HBc.

Background And Aims: Mutations on the a-determinant of hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg), capable of escaping detection and vaccination, are identified in HBsAg-positive/anti-HBs-positive vaccinated infants. We studied the prevalence of these mutants in HBsAg-negative/anti-HBc-positive chronic HBV carriers and patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: DNA sequence coding for the antigenic a-determinant of HBsAg was amplified from either HCC genomic DNA or serum samples of the selected patients and sequenced.

Clinical characteristics of ulcerative colitis in Singapore, a multiracial city-state.

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is rare in Asia. Singapore is an ethnically heterogeneous city-state with a population made up of Chinese (77%), Indians (7.5%), and Malays (14%).