Bilateral Renal Auto-Transplantation for Retroperitoneal Sarcomas: Is It Underutilized?

Sarcomas are a rare tumor of mesenchymal origin. The liposarcoma is the most common sarcoma of the retroperitoneum. Liposarcomas are typically low grade, and present at an advanced stage and a large size.

Simultaneous Heart-kidney Transplant With Planned Delayed Implantation of the Kidney Graft After Ex Vivo Perfusion.

Background: Simultaneous heart-kidney transplant (SHK) is an established option for patients with severe heart failure and chronic kidney disease. Recent studies in simultaneous liver-kidney transplantation demonstrate favorable outcomes achieved by delaying implantation of the kidney for over 24 h. This report describes a case series of consecutive patients listed for SHK who had planned delayed implantation of the kidney graft.

Multiple antibiotic resistance index (MARI) of human-isolated Salmonella species: a practical bacterial antibiotic surveillance tool.

Objectives: Drug-resistant Salmonella plays a significant role in disease morbidity and mortality worldwide. The present study aimed to determine the multiple antibiotic resistance index (MARI) of Salmonella isolated from children hospitalized for gastroenteritis in Hong Kong.

Methods: Salmonella isolates from stool samples of children aged from 30 days to <5 years were confirmed by using MALDI-TOF MS and subjected to serotyping methods according to the White-Kauffmann-Le Minor scheme.

Maternity care experience of Pakistani ethnic minority women in Hong Kong.

Background: Persistent inequalities in maternity care experience and outcomes exist globally for ethnic minority (EM) and migrant women. Despite the fact that this is an important research area, no prior study has been done in Hong Kong (HK) to examine maternity care experience of EM women.

Objectives: To investigate maternity care experience of Pakistani EM women (both local born and immigrants) during pregnancy, birth and after birth in hospital in HK.

Factors affecting outdoor physical activity in extreme temperatures in a sub-tropical Chinese urban population: an exploratory telephone survey.

Background: Physical activity (PA) can be affected by extreme temperatures, however fewer studies have identified factors impacting this relationship. This study sought to identify factors associated with changes of outdoor PA during extreme cold/heat events in a sub-tropical Chinese urban population, including factors of sociodemographic, health conditions, temperature-related awareness and attitude, and protective behaviours.

Methods: Two telephone surveys were conducted a week after extreme cold/heat events in 2016 and 2017 among a cohort of Hong Kong residents over age 15.

Urban heat island effect-related mortality under extreme heat and non-extreme heat scenarios: A 2010-2019 case study in Hong Kong.

The urban heat island (UHI) effect exacerbates the adverse impact of heat on human health. However, while the UHI effect is further intensified during extreme heat events, prior studies have rarely mapped the UHI effect during extreme heat events to assess its direct temperature impact on mortality. This study examined the UHI effect during extreme heat and non-extreme heat scenarios and compared their temperature-mortality associations in Hong Kong from 2010 to 2019.

The effect of subjective social status on health-related quality of life decline in urban Chinese older adults: a four-year longitudinal study from Hong Kong.

Background: Improving health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is becoming a major focus of old age care and social policy. Researchers have been increasingly examining subjective social status (SSS), one's self-perceived social position, as a predictor of various health conditions. SSS encompasses not only concrete socio-economic (SES) factors but also intangible aspects of status.

The effect of temperature on physical activity: an aggregated timeseries analysis of smartphone users in five major Chinese cities.

Background: Physical activity is an important factor in premature mortality reduction, non-communicable disease prevention, and well-being protection. Climate change will alter temperatures globally, with impacts already found on mortality and morbidity. While uncomfortable temperature is often perceived as a barrier to physical activity, the actual impact of temperature on physical activity has been less well studied, particularly in China.

Vasopressin for Post-kidney Transplant Hypotension.

Introduction: Hypotension after deceased donor kidney transplant (DDKT) is a risk factor for delayed graft function (DGF) and poor graft survival (GS). We hypothesize that vasopressin use in hypotensive DDKT recipients (DDKTRs) to increase blood pressure (BP) reduces DGF rates and is safe without increasing mortality.

Methods: Group with vasopressin "study group" ( 45) was defined as DDKTRs between 2012 and 2017 who required vasopressin for hypotension systolic BP (SBP) <120 mm Hg or diastolic BP (DBP) <60 mm Hg.

Selling World Health Organization's Alcohol "Best Buys" and Other Recommended Interventions in an Urban Chinese Population: Public Acceptability of Alcohol Harms Reduction Strategies in Hong Kong.

Background: To counter the harms caused by alcohol use, the World Health Organization (WHO) outlined a series of evidence-based recommendations, including the highly cost-effective "Best Buys" recommendations. While many Western countries have been actively introducing alcohol harms reduction strategies, it is unclear whether these cost-effective policies would be publicly acceptable in Asian regions with traditionally low alcohol consumption. This study examines the public acceptability of WHO-recommended alcohol harms reduction strategies in an Asian city with few extant alcohol regulations.

Independent effect of weather, air pollutants, and seasonal influenza on risk of tuberculosis hospitalization: An analysis of 22-year hospital admission data.

Background: While influenza infections and environmental factors have been documented as potential drivers of tuberculosis, no investigations have simultaneously examined their impact on tuberculosis at a population level. This study thereby made use of Hong Kong's surveillance data over 22 years to elucidate the temporal association between environmental influences, influenza infections, and tuberculosis activity.

Methods: Weekly total numbers of hospital admissions due to tuberculosis, meteorological data, and outdoor air pollutant concentrations in Hong Kong during 1998-2019 were obtained.

Projecting future temperature-related mortality using annual time series data: An example from Hong Kong.

Background: Previous studies projecting future temperature-related mortality under climate change have mostly used short-term temperature-mortality associations based on daily time series data. The present study aimed to project mortality under different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) in 21st century in Hong Kong by using analysis of annual data during 1976-2018.

Methods: We employed a degree-days approach, calculating the sum of daily degrees above or below certain temperature threshold within a relevant historical year.

Association of weather, air pollutants, and seasonal influenza with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalization risks.

The influences of weather and air pollutants on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been well-studied. However, the heterogeneous effects of different influenza viral infections, air pollution and weather on COPD admissions and re-admissions have not been thoroughly examined. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the relationships between meteorological variables, air pollutants, seasonal influenza, and hospital admissions and re-admissions due to COPD in Hong Kong, a non-industrial influenza epicenter.

Procedure: Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy.

Minimally invasive approaches for laparoscopic donor nephrectomy are necessary to limit surgical morbidity, and technical challenges differ from those encountered during other laparoscopic renal surgeries. Presented here is a step-by-step guide for laparoscopic donor nephrectomy-focusing on pure laparoscopic and hand-assisted techniques. Both straight laparoscopic and hand-assisted nephrectomies were performed in healthy donors who met transplantation criteria in terms of global health and psychologic well-being.

Genomic Epidemiology of Multidrug-Resistant Nontyphoidal Salmonella in Young Children Hospitalized for Gastroenteritis.

Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) gastroenteritis in children remains a significant burden on health care and constitutes a majority of all admissions for Salmonella infections in public hospitals in Hong Kong. In this prospective study, 41% of 241 children hospitalized with gastroenteritis from three public hospitals during 2019 were culture confirmed to have NTS infection. These Salmonella isolates were whole-genome sequenced and predicted for their serovars/serotypes using the Salmonella Typing Resource (SISTR) and SeqSero1, and the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes were determined.

First- and second-hand alcohol-related harms among urban Chinese: A population-based study from Hong Kong.

Introduction: Alcohol consumption has been steadily increasing in East Asia, however, there is comparatively little regional data of alcohol-related harms. This study examines the alcohol-related harms prevalence and risk factors in Hong Kong, a high population density city with limited alcohol regulation.

Methods: A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted in 2019 on Chinese adults aged 18-74 (n = 3200).

Combined liver-kidney transplantation with positive crossmatch: Role of delayed kidney transplantation.

Background: Positive crossmatch (XM+) combined liver-kidney transplantation due to preformed donor-specific human leukocyte antigen antibodies has produced mixed results. We sought to understand the role of delayed kidney transplant approach in XM+ combined liver-kidney transplantations.

Methods: XM+ combined liver-kidney transplantations were retrospectively reviewed.

A National Survey of Practice Patterns for Accepting Living Kidney Donors With Prior COVID-19.

Introduction: A critical question facing transplant programs is whether, when, and how to safely accept living kidney donors (LKDs) who have recovered from COVID-19 infection. The purpose of the study is to understand current practices related to accepting these LKDs.

Methods: We surveyed US transplant programs from 3 September through 3 November 2020.

The impact of childhood pneumococcal conjugate vaccine immunisation on all-cause pneumonia admissions in Hong Kong: A 14-year population-based interrupted time series analysis.

Background: Nine years after the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in the United States, Hong Kong (HK) introduced the vaccine to its universal childhood immunisation programme in 2009. We aimed to assess the impact of childhood PCV immunisation on all-cause pneumonia (ACP) admissions among the overall population of HK.

Methods: In this population-based interrupted time series analysis, we used territory-wide population-representative electronic health records in HK to evaluate the vaccine impact.