Publications by authors named "Ip M"

Importance: Domiciliary noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is a standard treatment for improving health outcomes among patients with chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure (CHRF). However, poor adherence substantially limits its therapeutic effectiveness.

Objective: To determine the effect of an information-motivation-behavioral (IMB) skills-based intervention (IMB-NIV program) on NIV adherence, patient-reported health outcomes, and health service use among patients with CHRF.

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During September-October 2021, group B Streptococcus bloodstream infections surged among patients hospitalized in Hong Kong. Of 95 cases, 57 were caused by the hypervirulent strain sequence type 283, which at the time was also found in freshwater fish and wet market environments and thus poses a transmission threat.

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Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) among adolescents is a prime public health concern worldwide. Research found that IPV victimization and peers' IPV perpetration could increase the likelihood of IPV perpetration. In contrast, healthy partner attachment, forgiveness, shame management, and family harmony could serve as protective factors for IPV.

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INTRODUCTIONHyponatraemia is associated with morbidity and mortality among various medical disorders. Evidence on the association between hyponatraemia at the time of exacerbation and the prognosis in patients with bronchiectasis is lacking.METHODSThis was a single-centre retrospective study.

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Purpose: Historically, supplemental dextrose to infusion fluid has been used to reduce the need for intraoperative lensectomies to maintain visualization during diabetic vitrectomy. Valved, small-gauge vitrectomy has reduced surgical time and decreased intraoperative fluid flow. Assessment of supplemental dextrose in modern vitrectomy is presented in this study.

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Background: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is associated with hypertension, and OSA treatment can reduce systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), but with a modest mean effect size and vast heterogeneity among studies. The aim of this individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis was to understand which OSA phenotypes could benefit the most in terms of BP reduction.

Methods: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials that compared continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) with either passive or active treatment was conducted.

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Introduction: Sleep disturbances including obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and poor sleep quality are common after stroke, while its association with cognitive changes following transient ischemic attack (TIA) or mild stroke remains unclear. We aim to determine whether sleep duration, OSA parameters, or nocturnal hypoxemia is associated with a greater cognitive decline after stroke.

Methods: We prospectively followed-up patients with acute TIA/mild stroke [National Institute Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) < 7] who underwent baseline sleep questionnaire [Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)], and serial cognitive assessments [Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) 5-min, Stroop Test] at baseline and one-year.

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INTRODUCTIONWhile bronchiectasis is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes, data regarding its impact on long-term renal outcomes is lacking.METHODSWe reviewed bronchiectasis patients followed up at Queen Mary Hospital in 2017 and examined their clinical/renal outcomes in the subsequent five years. The relationships between the severity of bronchiectasis as defined by FACED (FEV, Age, Chronic colonisation, Extension, Dyspnoea) scores and adverse renal outcomes were evaluated.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Out of 112 respondents, which included both surgeons and hand therapists, the study found significant variability in surgical decision-making and imaging practices, with most centers favoring ligament reconstruction using a bone anchor.
  • * Findings suggest that there is inconsistency in the treatment approaches for UCL ruptures and a strong interest among medical professionals for future clinical trials to standardize management practices.
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Endolysins (lysins), a novel class of antibacterial agents derived from bacteriophages, efficiently lyse bacteria by degrading the peptidoglycan layer within the bacterial wall. Colistin, a classic peptide antibiotic with the ability to permeabilize the outer membrane, has recently shown great promise in synergizing with lysins against gram-negative bacteria. However, the exact mechanisms responsible for their synergy remain unclear.

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to quantitatively analyze and compare OCT characteristics of intraretinal hyper-reflective foci (IHRF) in eyes with diabetic retinopathy (DR) versus age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Design: a retrospective observational study.

Participants: 54 treatment-naïve eyes (27 DR and 27 AMD).

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Objective: To develop an artificial intelligence model to predict an antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in patients with urinary tract infection (UTI).

Materials And Methods: 26 087 adult patients with culture-proven UTI during 2015-2020 from a university teaching hospital and three community hospitals in Hong Kong were included. Cases with asymptomatic bacteriuria (absence of diagnosis code of UTI, or absence of leucocytes in urine microscopy) were excluded.

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Background: COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted tuberculosis (TB) services in many countries, but the impacts on sites of involvement, drug susceptibility, smear positivity and clinical outcomes, and clinical outcomes of co-infection with influenza and COVID-19 remain unclear.

Methods: Descriptive epidemiological study using episode-based and patient unique data of tuberculosis from Hospital Authority's territory-wide electronic medical record database, comparing baseline (January 2015-December 2019) and COVID-19 period (January 2020-December 2022), followed by univariate and multivariate analyses. Effects of co-infection with influenza and COVID-19 were investigated.

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Influenza is an important respiratory viral pathogen in adults, with secondary bacterial pneumonia being a common complication. While pneumococcal vaccines can prevent pneumococcal pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease, whether they can also prevent the severe in-hospital outcomes among patients hospitalized for influenza has not been examined. A territory-wide retrospective study was conducted in Hong Kong, which included all adult patients having chronic airway diseases (asthma, bronchiectasis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) hospitalized for influenza and who had received seasonal influenza vaccine.

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Purpose: Compare choroidal changes in ranibizumab versus panretinal photocoagulation (PRP)-treated eyes with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).

Methods: DRCR Retina Network Protocol S post hoc analysis evaluated optical coherence tomography change in choroidal thickness (subfoveal and 3mm superior and inferior to the fovea) through five years; choroidal vascularity index (CVI) was assessed at baseline and one year. Mixed linear models for choroidal change included adjustments for the baseline choroidal value and age.

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Article Synopsis
  • Group A β haemolytic streptococcus (GAS) is a pathogen that causes various infections in humans, and this study analyzed 51 GAS isolates from invasive infections in Sri Lanka.
  • The isolates were tested for resistance to antibiotics like erythromycin and tetracycline, revealing that all were susceptible to penicillin and showing diverse patterns of resistance and virulence markers.
  • Key findings included a 70.6% non-susceptibility rate to tetracycline and the detection of significant virulence markers, indicating a varied genetic background among the isolates.
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Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the progression of atrophy as determined by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in patients with molecularly confirmed ABCA4-associated Stargardt disease type 1 (STGD1) over a 24-month period in a multicenter prospective cohort study.

Methods: SD-OCT images from 428 eyes of 236 patients were analyzed. Change of mean thickness (MT) and intact area were estimated after semiautomated segmentation for the following individual layers in the central subfield (CS), inner ring (IR), and outer ring (OR) of the ETDRS grid: retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), outer segments (OSs), inner segments (IS), outer nuclear layer (ONL) inner retina (IR), and total retina.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to explore the effectiveness of generative adversarial networks (GANs) in predicting diabetic macular edema using optical coherence tomography (OCT) images after long-term anti-VEGF treatment.
  • A total of 327 diabetic macular edema patients had their OCT images analyzed over 52 weeks, with different GAN models generating OCT images based on various inputs like baseline B-scans or additional retinal imaging data.
  • The results indicated that GAN models could accurately predict residual fluid and hard exudates, suggesting their potential in identifying patients who may not respond well to treatment, thus aiding in better management strategies.
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Background: Bronchiectasis is a disease with predominantly neutrophilic inflammation. As a readily available biomarker, there is little evidence to support the use of blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) to predict bronchiectasis exacerbation severe enough to warrant hospitalization.

Methods: A registry-based retrospective cohort study was conducted at a in Hong Kong.

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Background: Bronchiectasis is a common respiratory disease with neutrophilic inflammation being the predominant pathophysiology. Systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) is a simple and readily available biomarker being studied in various conditions including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and interstitial lung disease, but not in bronchiectasis. We aim to investigate the prognostic role of SII in bronchiectasis with this study.

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Repeated exposure to antibiotics and changes in the diet and environment shift the gut microbial diversity and composition, making the host susceptible to pathogenic infection. The emergence and ongoing spread of AMR pathogens is a challenging public health issue. Recent evidence showed that probiotics and prebiotics may play a role in decolonizing drug-resistant pathogens by enhancing the colonization resistance in the gut.

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Infections with invasive Group A streptococcus can have a wide range of presentations and be life threatening if not diagnosed and managed rapidly. Limb presentations in children can be especially challenging and we present our experience to help manage such cases. There can be multiple foci of infection with seeding to avascular structures.

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Background: Silicone oil (SO) is a long-term tamponade for repair of complex retinal pathology but has limitations including late redetachment. This study describes our experience with SO tamponade for repair of retinal detachment with proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), with attention to anatomic and functional outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective consecutive case series of eyes with retinal detachment (RD) complicated by proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) receiving SO tamponade at the University of Wisconsin between 2013 and 2019.

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Purpose: To investigate the association of retinal thickness 1 month after the first study aflibercept or bevacizumab injection with later retinal thickness, visual acuity, and number of treatments in eyes enrolled in the Study of COmparative Treatments for REtinal Vein Occlusion 2.

Design: Cohort study using data from a randomized clinical trial.

Methods: Analysis included one eye from each of 350 participants through 2 years of follow-up.

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