Bone turnover markers reference database in five Southeast Asian countries.

Osteoporosis is highly prevalent, particularly in developing countries. However, bone turnover marker reference ranges for management of osteoporosis in Asian population are yet to be explored and established. Thus, this study aims to develop a regional bone turnover markers (BTMs) reference database by combining country-specific reference database from five ASEAN countries: Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Decreasing appointment waiting days for first consultation for patients attending adult weight management clinic in a tertiary hospital.

Adult weight management (AWM) clinic at our tertiary institution is a clinical service run for overweight or obese adult women, who are also under the care of gynaecologists for subfertility or menstrual irregularities. Unfortunately, the appointment waiting days for the first consultation at AWM clinic were long, which affected the timeliness of care given to our patients. We suspect that the referred patients are more likely to forget or lose motivation during the long waiting days, resulting in higher non-attendance rates.

Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw in osteoporotic patients: prevention and management.

Osteoporosis is a major, growing healthcare issue. This is especially of concern in an ageing population like that of Singapore. Osteoporotic patients are at risk of fractures, which can result in increased morbidity and mortality.

Role of the Nasogastric Tube and Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum) in Palliative Care.

Decision-making on behalf of an incapacitated patient at the end of life is a complex process, particularly in family-centric societies. The situation is more complex when attempts are made to accommodate Eastern concepts of end-of-life care with more conventional Western approaches. In this case report of an incapacitated 74-year-old Singaporean man of Malay descent with relapsed Stage 4 diffuse large B cell lymphoma who was without an established lasting power of attorney, we highlight the difficult deliberations that ensue when the patient's family, acting as his proxy, elected to administer lingzhi through his nasogastric tube (NGT).

What do medical students learn when they follow patients from hospital to community? A longitudinal qualitative study.

Context: Although longitudinal community-based care of patients provides opportunities for teaching patient centredness and chronic disease management, there is a paucity of literature assessing learning outcomes of these clerkships. This study examines learning outcomes among students participating in longitudinal community based follow-up of patients discharged from the hospital.

Methods: The authors conducted a thematic analysis of 253 student narratives written by 44 third-year medical students reflecting on their longitudinal interactions with patients with chronic medical illnesses.

Could peak proteinuria determine whether patient with dengue fever develop dengue hemorrhagic/dengue shock syndrome?--a prospective cohort study.

Background: Worldwide there is a need to develop simple effective predictors that can distinguish whether a patient will progress from dengue fever (DF) to life threatening dengue hemorrhagic (DHF) or dengue shock syndrome (DSS). We explored whether proteinuria could be used as such a marker.

Methods: We included patients admitted to hospital with suspected dengue fever.

Necrotizing fasciitis.

Objective: To describe the defining characteristics and treatment of necrotizing fasciitis (NF), emphasizing early diagnostic indications.

Quality Of Evidence: PubMed was searched using the terms necrotizing fasciitis and necrotizing soft tissue infections, paired with early diagnosis. Results were limited to human studies in English.