Publications by authors named "Veronica Wong"

Introduction: A resurgence of pertussis has been reported in numerous countries. This study aimed to determine the incidence, clinical characteristics, and outcome of pertussis among infants in Sarawak, Malaysia.

Methodology: We conducted a descriptive retrospective study of infants aged < 12 months with laboratory-confirmed pertussis admitted to Bintulu Hospital in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, from 2015 until 2021.

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A 77-year-old man with a history of left nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma and partial hepatectomy for cholangiocarcinoma underwent F-FDG PET/CT for assessment of an irregular lung lesion. FDG-PET demonstrated development of an intensely avid spiculated left lower lobe pulmonary lesion and intensely avid left pulmonary hilar nodes, raising suspicion for a malignancy. Eleven days following the PET study, the patient was admitted to hospital with an altered mental state.

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When localised prostate cancer recurs after treatment, it occurs predictably in sites such as the prostatic bed, pelvic lymph nodes, spine, lung, and liver. Urethral metastasis of prostate cancer is exceedingly rare. We report a case of urethral recurrence of prostate cancer presenting as new lower urinary tract symptoms in an 82-year-old male 10 years after robotic radical prostatectomy with a very low PSA level of 0.

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Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of Bone Scan at different PSA levels for detecting skeletal metastases in men with biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the statewide RIS-PACS to identify 251 men with biochemical recurrence who underwent both a Bone Scan and Ga68 PSMA PET/CT (within 2 months of each other) between September 2019 and December 2022 at a single institution. The Ga68 PSMA PET/CT report was considered to be the reference standard.

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Objectives: To compare the diagnostic performance and radiological staging impact of Ga-prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PSMA PET/CT) compared to Tc whole-body bone scan (WBBS) for the detection of skeletal metastasis in the primary staging of prostate cancer (PCa).

Patients And Methods: A prospective institutional database was retrospectively examined for patients who underwent both PSMA PET and WBBS within a 1 week interval for PCa primary staging. Lesions were categorised as 'negative', 'equivocal', or 'definite' based on nuclear medicine physician interpretation.

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A 69-year-old man with locally advanced prostate adenocarcinoma (Gleason score 9), who had completed hormone therapy and definitive radiotherapy, presented to hospital with abdominal pain and distension. A CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis revealed ascites and extensive peritoneal/omental nodules. Serum prostate-specific antigen was not raised (0.

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A 68-year-old woman was referred for an 18 F-FDG PET/CT for evaluation of arthralgia and raised inflammatory markers, which demonstrated intense FDG activity (SUV max , 25.5) at numerous periarticular and extra-articular sites including the cervical and lumbar interspinous bursae, lumbar facet joints, bilateral ischial tuberosities, and greater trochanters and the aorta consistent with active polymyalgia rheumatica.

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The fundamental basis of pregnancy and cancer is to determine the fate of the survival or the death of humanity. However, the development of fetuses and tumors share many similarities and differences, making them two sides of the same coin. This review presents an overview of the similarities and differences between pregnancy and cancer.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A study compared the effectiveness of PSMA PET/CT with standard imaging (like MRI) for identifying HCC in patients, showing similar sensitivity and specificity.
  • * The PSMA PET/CT demonstrated a higher negative predictive value (90%) compared to MRI, suggesting its potential value, but further testing in larger trials is needed to confirm its effectiveness.
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A 73-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer and known widespread skeletal metastases was referred for bone scintigraphy. Delayed images acquired at 2 and 5 hours postinjection of 30 mCi (1089 MBq) 99mTc-HDP demonstrated markedly reduced bony uptake, markedly increased renal activity, and significantly increased soft tissue accumulation. By contrast, appropriate skeletal uptake of 99mTc-HDP was seen in prior bone scans.

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Pharmacists must be able to navigate prescription drug coverages to help providers and patients reduce out-of-pocket costs. Traditionally, curricula on drug insurance benefits rely on lectures and lack a practicum that offers students hands-on experience with determining formulary and cost-sharing information. An activity for pharmacy students to update a free public website that summarizes formularies and copayment requirements across major insurers was piloted.

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A 68-year-old gentleman was referred for F-FDG PET/CT for a pulmonary mass in the left upper lobe which demonstrated intensely FDG-avid confluent pulmonary consolidation in the left upper lobe (SUV 15.1). Histopathologic biopsy of the left upper lobe lung mass was consistent with inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT).

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A 60-year-old man with a background of resected clear cell renal cancer and resected colorectal adenocarcinoma presented with a pulmonary mass lesion in the left upper lobe which was avid on 18-F FDG PET/CT. Needle biopsy confirmed metastatic renal cell cancer, which was surgically excised with wedge resection. Follow-up imaging 6 months later demonstrated a second slowly enlarging subcentimeter nodule in the contralateral lung with increasing FDG avidity, suspicious of further small volume oligometastatic disease.

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A 63-year-old lady with a background of ischemic heart disease was referred for F-FDG PET/CT for multiple lytic bone lesions which showed disseminated FDG avid lesions in the skeleton, nodal stations as well as spleen simulating advanced malignancy such as diffuse lymphomatous disease. A diagnosis of sarcoidosis was pathologically confirmed with bone biopsy. Following treatment, repeat PET/CT revealed significant regression of FDG avid lesions, however prominent uptake in the lateral ventricular wall was suspicious for active cardiac sarcoidosis, particularly given recurrent chest pain.

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Although primary cardiac tumours are extremely uncommon, secondary tumours or cardiac metastasis are not. We present a 68-year-old gentleman with squamous cell carcinoma of the right lower lobe with bony metastasis to the right clavicle who was treated with radiotherapy to the lung and clavicle as well as combination immunotherapy (Pembrolizumab) and chemotherapy (Carboplatin/Paclitaxel). Despite completing the above treatment regime, F-FDG PET/CT scan showed progression with two new sites of metastasis including a focus in the lateral wall of the right ventricle which correlate to a soft tissue density mass on CT as well as a FDG avid mass in the left masseter.

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A 31-year-old woman (7 months postpartum and lactating) with multiple sclerotic bone lesions was referred for an F-FDG PET/CT scan for characterization. The scan demonstrated unilateral diffuse intense FDG uptake corresponding to dense soft tissue in the right breast, likely related to secretory hyperplasia. On further questioning, it was made apparent that she had only been breastfeeding from the right breast.

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A 66-year-old man was referred for a 68Ga-prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT scan for primary staging of Gleason 8 prostatic adenocarcinoma. The PET/CT images confirmed PSMA activity in the bilateral prostatic apex in keeping with the known malignancy. An intensely PSMA-avid focus was also noted in a nonenlarged right femoral lymph node with no evidence of PSMA-avid metastatic disease elsewhere.

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An 81-year-old man with prostate adenocarcinoma (Gleason 4 + 3 = 7) treated with brachytherapy and intermittent androgen deprivation therapy was referred for serial Ga-prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA-HBED-CC) PET/CT scans for rising prostate-specific antigen. Findings were suggestive of local prostatic recurrence and nodal metastases. An incidental PSMA-avid focus was noted in the anterior wall of an infrarenal aortic aneurysm, with a contrast-enhanced hyperdense region surrounded by a semilunar hypodense region anteriorly, consistent with enlarging dissecting thrombus.

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A 71-year-old man with a history of high-risk prostate adenocarcinoma (Gleason score 4 + 5 = 9) treated with brachytherapy in 2016 was referred for a Ga-prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-HBED-CC PET/CT scan for suspected cancer recurrence on a background of slowly rising serum prostate-specific antigen (0.95 ng/mL; reference, <0.2 ng/mL).

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Unlabelled: : Patient safety demands enhancements in training. Graduated cadaveric bone exposure is fundamental to otologic training. Printed bone models (PBM) provide a low-cost, anatomically consistent adjunct to cadaveric materials in trainee skill acquisition.

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A 34-year-old woman presented with a 3-month history of right-sided headaches associated with photophobia and pulsatile tinnitus. Investigations including lumbar puncture revealed elevated opening CSF pressure, increased protein, and presence of monocytosis consistent with an inflammatory/infective process. Brain MRI showed an area of thickened enhancing dura around the venous sinus posteriorly.

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Objective: To determine the effect of different seasons on the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) by using World Health Organization criteria.

Research Design And Methods: The results of all pregnancy glucose tolerance tests (GTTs) were prospectively collected over a 3-year period in a temperate climate, and the results were grouped by season.

Results: The results of 7,369 pregnancy GTTs were available for consideration.

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Knowledge of the fasting plasma glucose of healthy women may assist in the setting of treatment targets for women with hyperglycaemia in pregnancy (HIP). This study examines the pregnancy glucose tolerance test results of 3344 women without HIP collected over a three-year period. The median fasting plasma glucose was 4.

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