Effects of empagliflozin on liver fat in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease without diabetes mellitus: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background And Aims: We investigated whether empagliflozin reduces hepatic steatosis in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease without diabetes mellitus.

Approach And Results: This was an investigator-initiated, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial recruiting adult subjects from the community. Eligible subjects without diabetes mellitus (fasting plasma glucose < 7 mmol/L and HbA1c < 6.

Effect of moderate-to-severe hepatic steatosis on neutralising antibody response among BNT162b2 and CoronaVac recipients.

Background/aims: Studies of hepatic steatosis (HS) effect on COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity are lacking. We aimed to compare immunogenicity of BNT162b2 and CoronaVac among moderate/severe HS and control subjects.

Methods: Two hundred ninety-five subjects who received BNT162b2 or CoronaVac vaccines from five vaccination centers were categorized into moderate/severe HS (controlled attenuation parameter ≥268 dB/m on transient elastography) (n=74) or control (n=221) groups.

Burnout in orthopaedic surgeons: A systematic review.

Occupational burnout is a syndrome composing of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and low sense of personal accomplishment. Burnout has been shown to negatively affect both the personal lives and professional performance of doctors. Orthopaedic surgery is a challenging specialty, and while burnout has been studied in orthopaedic surgeons, a comprehensive review article in this area is lacking.

Inhaled corticosteroid-phobia and childhood asthma: Current understanding and management implications.

Asthma is the most prevalent chronic disease in children. Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) is the first-line controller therapy for children with persistent asthma, however, suboptimal compliance to ICS therapy remains as a major obstacle in paediatric asthma management. Steroid-phobia, the fear of side-effects and subsequent aversion of ICS, has been widely reported in parents of asthmatic children.

Molecular epidemiology of coxsackievirus A6 circulating in Hong Kong reveals common neurological manifestations and emergence of novel recombinant groups.

Background: Coxsackievirus A6 (CV-A6) represents the predominant enterovirus serotype in Hong Kong, but its epidemiology in our population was unknown.

Objectives: To examine the clinical and molecular epidemiology of CV-A6 and detect emerging recombinant strains in Hong Kong.

Study Design: Nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) from patients with febrile or respiratory illness were subject to RT-PCR for CV-A6 and sequencing of 5'-NCR and VP1.

Augmented Reality Games as a New Class of Physical Activity Interventions? The Impact of Pokémon Go Use and Gaming Intensity on Physical Activity.

Objective: To assess the health impact of augmented reality games by examining the association between Pokémon Go and physical activity among university students.

Materials And Methods: This pilot study included 65 medical students who were iPhone (Apple, Inc., Cupertino, CA) users with the built-in accelerometer and Health app.

Association Between Hepatic Steatosis, Measured by Controlled Attenuation Parameter, and Fibrosis Burden in Chronic Hepatitis B.

Background & Aims: The interaction between chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and hepatic steatosis is poorly understood. We investigated whether measurement of controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), a non-invasive method to quantify steatosis, can assist in monitoring patients with CHB.

Methods: We performed transient elastography, to measure liver stiffness, and made CAP measurements in 1606 patients with CHB (898 treated with nucleoside analogues, for a median 75.

Requesting a unique personal identifier or providing a souvenir incentive did not affect overall consent to health record linkage: evidence from an RCT nested within a cohort.

Objective: It is unclear if unique personal identifiers should be requested from participants for health record linkage: this permits high-quality data linkage but at the potential cost of lower consent rates due to privacy concerns.

Study Design And Setting: Drawing from a sampling frame based on the FAMILY Cohort, using a 2 × 2 factorial design, we randomly assigned 1,200 participants to (1) request for Hong Kong Identity Card number (HKID) or no request and (2) receiving a souvenir incentive (valued at USD4) or no incentive. The primary outcome was consent to health record linkage.