Publications by authors named "Karen Ng"

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common malignancies of the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). HNSCC is recognized as the eighth most commonly occurring cancer globally in men. It is essential to distinguish between cancers arising in the head and neck regions due to significant differences in their etiologies, treatment approaches, and prognoses.

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Background And Objective: Patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection (TAAD) are often asymptomatic but present acutely with life threatening complications that necessitate emergency intervention. Aortic diameter measurement using computed tomography (CT) is considered the gold standard for diagnosis, surgical planning, and monitoring. However, manual measurement can create challenges in clinical workflows due to its time-consuming, labour-intensive nature and susceptibility to human error.

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Oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) are a group of lesions carrying the risk of developing into cancer. The gold standard to predict which lesions are more likely to undergo malignant transformation is the presence of dysplasia histologically. However, not all dysplastic lesions progress, and non-dysplastic lesions may also undergo malignant transformation.

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  • The study investigated how swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) evolve in stroke patients by examining the relationship between muscle strength and swallowing outcomes over six months.
  • Researchers tracked various data points, including diet level and swallowing quality, through multiple assessments after participants suffered their first stroke.
  • Findings revealed that while muscle strength improved in the first month, swallowing precision was critical for overall quality of life and function at six months, suggesting a need for early diagnosis in at-risk patients.
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Purpose: We sought to assess the feasibility and estimate the effects on outcomes of a multimodal prehabilitation service implemented as an ancillary surgical service.

Methods: We conducted a pragmatic, nonrandomized feasibility study of surgical prehabilitation. Patients were eligible if they were ≥ 18 yr of age, fluent in English, and referred by a health professional for prehabilitation.

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Background: Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is considered a safe and promising tool for limb rehabilitation after stroke, but its effect on cough has never been studied. It is known that the ear and larynx share vagal afferent pathways, suggesting that stimulating the ear with taVNS might have effects on cough sensitivity. The specific stimulation parameters used can influence outcomes.

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  • Intrauterine adhesion (IUA) can occur after uterine surgeries, leading to complications during miscarriage management, and this study aimed to compare IUA rates between ultrasound-guided manual vacuum aspiration (USG-MVA) and electric vacuum aspiration (EVA) in women experiencing first-trimester miscarriage.
  • Conducted as a randomized controlled trial at a tertiary hospital, this study involved 303 Chinese women who underwent either USG-MVA or EVA, with follow-up assessments to evaluate IUA occurrence between 6 and 20 weeks post-surgery.
  • Results revealed that the IUA incidence was significantly lower in the USG-MVA group (19.0%) compared to the EVA group (32.0%), highlighting
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Background: The traditional definition of massive transfusion is 10 red blood cell units transfused within 24 hr. This definition has been faulted for excluding patients who die early from exsanguination. Alternative major bleeding definitions in the trauma literature include time-based (e.

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  • Many established oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) grading criteria are inconsistent and struggle to accurately predict cancer risk, prompting this study to explore if training pathologists could enhance grading reliability.
  • A nationwide online calibration exercise revealed significant improvements in inter-observer agreement, especially for the WHO 2017 grading system, showcasing better consistency among pathologists regardless of their years of experience.
  • The results highlight the importance of regular calibration training for oral pathologists to ensure better reliability in OED grading, which is crucial for effectively treating oral lesions that may become cancerous.
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Background: Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly leveraging machine learning techniques to optimize healthcare research, drug development, and medical affairs activities. AI (artificial intelligence) tools such as chatbots, virtual digital assistants, and research tools have been explored to varying degrees of maturity in industries such as consumer goods or software technology. However, there continues to be untapped opportunities within the pharmaceutical industry to employ these technologies for enhanced engagement and education with healthcare professionals (HCPs).

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  • Ultrasound-guided manual vacuum aspiration (USG-MVA) proves to be a safe and effective outpatient option for treating early pregnancy loss, compared to electric vacuum aspiration (EVA).
  • In a study with 292 women, those who underwent EVA showed a significantly higher incidence of intrauterine adhesion (IUA), implying that USG-MVA may pose lower risks of complications.
  • Follow-up results indicated no significant differences in reproductive outcomes between the two methods, with fewer women experiencing hypomenorrhea after USG-MVA.
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Ovarian stimulation is a fundamental step in assisted reproductive technology (ART) with the intention of inducing ovarian follicle development prior to timed intercourse or intra-uterine insemination and facilitating the retrieval of multiple oocytes during a single in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle. The basis of ovarian stimulation includes the administration of exogenous gonadotropins, with or without pre-treatment with oral hormonal therapy. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist or antagonist is given in addition to the gonadotropins to prevent a premature rise of endogenous luteinizing hormone that would in turn lead to premature ovulation.

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Purpose: To revise the 2009 Canadian Geriatrics Society (CGS) Core Competencies in the Care of Older Persons for Canadian Medical Students by applying current frameworks and using a modified Delphi process.

Method: The working group chose the Geriatric 5Ms model and CanMEDS framework to develop and structure the competencies. National (i.

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Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a type of cancer that arises from the epithelium lining of the oral cavity, hypopharynx, oropharynx, and larynx. Despite the advancement of current treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the overall survival rate of patients afflicted with HNSCC remains poor. The reasons for these poor outcomes are due to late diagnoses and patient-acquired resistance to treatment.

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In BCR-ABL1 lymphoblastic leukemia, treatment heterogeneity to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), especially in the absence of kinase domain mutations in BCR-ABL1, is poorly understood. Through deep molecular profiling, we uncovered three transcriptomic subtypes of BCR-ABL1 lymphoblastic leukemia, each representing a maturation arrest at a stage of B-cell progenitor differentiation. An earlier arrest was associated with lineage promiscuity, treatment refractoriness and poor patient outcomes.

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Over a 4.5-year period (September 2014 to March 2019), 7 patients presented to the State's only Level I Trauma Center with penetrating injuries inflicted by homemade metallic darts. Previously described in Micronesia, these are the first domestic cases of assaults utilizing this type of weaponry.

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Aim: To ascertain the risk of progression to diabetes among Chinese women with PCOS.

Methods: Women with PCOS (n = 3978) were identified from the Hong Kong Diabetes Surveillance Database based on the ICD-9 code for PCOS diagnosis and women without PCOS served as controls (n = 39780), matched 1:10 by age.

Result(s): The mean follow-up was 6.

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Background: The Opioid Stewardship Program (OSP) was created to promote safe and rational prescribing of opioids, where the risks associated with providing opioids for patients must be balanced against the risk of patients experiencing uncontrolled pain. The pharmacist-led OSP was established at 2 Fraser Health Authority (FHA) sites, British Columbia, to provide clinical services through patient referrals and screening. The rate of acceptance of OSP pharmacists' recommendations has been high, but there was a need to assess clinicians' perceptions of the program.

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The underlying mechanisms of plasma metabolite signatures of human aging and age-related diseases are not clear but telomere attrition and dysfunction are central to both. Dyskeratosis congenita (DC) is associated with mutations in the telomerase enzyme complex (TERT, TERC, and DKC1) and progressive telomere attrition. We analyzed the effect of telomere attrition on senescence-associated metabolites in fibroblast-conditioned media and DC patient plasma.

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Currently, routine genetic investigation for male infertility includes karyotyping analysis and PCR for Y chromosomal microdeletions to provide prognostic information such as sperm retrieval success rate. However, over 85% of male infertility remain idiopathic. We assessed 101 male patients with primary infertility in a retrospective cohort analysis who have previously received negative results from standard-of-care tests.

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Lymphoma is the most common tumor of the nasal cavity in cats. Commonly used treatment modalities are radiotherapy and chemotherapy, or both. Typical chemotherapy protocols used in cats with nasal lymphoma are COP (cyclophosphamide, vincristine prednisolone) and CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone).

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Background: Novel clinical challenges are faced by cardiac surgeons under the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Amidst the uncertainties faced due to the socioeconomic and public health impact, there is little evidence surrounding COVID-19 vaccination in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Timing of vaccination and postvaccination adverse effects are required parameters to discuss with cardiac surgical patients.

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A three-year-old male neutered Norwegian Forest cat was referred for bilateral ambulatory paraparesis and spinal pain. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a mass involving the right epaxial muscles with vertebral canal invasion and causing marked extradural spinal cord compression was identified. At surgery, the mass was debulked and a right hemilaminectomy was performed.

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