The Herpes Zoster Patient Pathway and Gaps in Current Vaccination Guidelines in Southeast Asia: Summary of a Zoster Experts' Network Scientific Workshop.

The burden of herpes zoster (HZ) is recognized worldwide; however, there is seemingly limited information on incidence and vaccination practices in Southeast Asia (SEA). A scientific workshop was held by the Zoster Experts' Network to exchange and consolidate insights on the burden of HZ and the patient pathway in SEA. The workshop included practicing clinical experts and public health specialists/epidemiologists from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Adherence of Primary Care Providers to Practice Guidelines for Common Pediatric Conditions in Urban, Rural, and Remote Sites in the Philippines: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Evaluation of primary care allows for identification of problems in the healthcare system, such as poor health outcomes, inappropriate health services, overuse of unnecessary resources, or underuse of recommended strategies. Assessment of adherence to existing clinical practice guidelines as quality indicators is critical for evaluating the effectiveness of primary care and shaping healthcare policies.

Objectives: To determine the adherence of primary care providers to existing practice guidelines for common pediatric concerns in remote, rural, and urban areas in the Philippines.

Five Cases of Non-radiographic Spondyloarthritis (nr-SpA) of Patients from a Tertiary Care Center in the Philippines: A Case Series.

Axial Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the spine associated with the gene HLA-B27. Non-radiographic spondyloarthritis (nr-SpA), an early stage of axial SpA often goes unrecognized in many settings including the Philippines. We describe five Filipinos from a tertiary health care facility who fulfill the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) 2009 criteria for non-radiographic SpA with the aim of increasing awareness of this disease in the Philippines.

Factors Affecting Outcomes of Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty for Central Vein Occlusive Disease in the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital: A 10-Year Experience.

Objective: To describe the treatment outcomes of patients who underwent Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty (PTA) for Central Vein Occlusive Disease (CVOD) in end-stage kidney disease and determine the association between patient profile and treatment outcomes.

Methods: A single-institution, retrospective review of patients aged 18 and above with end-stage kidney disease who underwent PTA for CVOD in the University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2022, was performed. These patients' demographic and clinical profiles were evaluated using means, frequencies, and percentages.

Clinical Profile and Pulmonary Function of Pediatric Patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at a Tertiary Government Hospital.

Objective: Our study aimed to determine the clinical profile and pulmonary function of pediatric patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). We also characterized the stages of progression of the disease and determined their potential association with spirometry variables.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we used data obtained from a review of medical records of all pediatric patients (0-18 years old) with DMD seen in a multidisciplinary neuromuscular clinic of a tertiary government hospital from August 2018 until March 2020.

Surgical Outcomes for Sensory Exotropia in a Tertiary Hospital in Manila, Philippines.

Background And Objective: There is no strict by-the-book rule as to which approach is the best strabismus surgery for patients with sensory exotropia. More commonly, a monocular lateral rectus recession and a medial rectus resection (monocular R & R; MRR) is performed in the eye with a poorer prognosis. Rarely, for larger deviations, a third or fourth horizontal muscle in the better eye is added.

The Effect of Resistance, Aerobic, and Concurrent Aerobic and Resistance Exercises on Inflammatory Markers of Metabolically Healthy Overweight or Obese Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of different exercise interventions on improving adiposity-related inflammatory markers of metabolically healthy obese (MHO) adults.

Methods: This is a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies on the effects of exercise interventions in the inflammatory markers of sedentary adults with MHO phenotype. Systematic searches were performed in PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, and OVID from January 2021 to January 2022.

Characteristics of snakebite patients due to Naja samarensis in the Philippines: a prospective hospital-based study.

Background: Little is known about snakebites by Naja samarensis, a species unique to the Philippines. The aim here is to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients bitten by this medically important cobra in the Eastern Visayas.

Methods: A hospital-based prospective study analysed the features of snakebite patients attending Eastern Visayas Medical Center between June 2022 and May 2023.

Cost-utility analysis of empagliflozin for heart failure in the Philippines.

Aims: Empagliflozin confers cardioprotective benefits among patients with heart failure, across the range of ejection fraction (EF), regardless of type 2 diabetes status. The long-term cost-effectiveness of empagliflozin for the treatment of heart failure (HF) in the Philippines remains unclear. This study aims to determine the economic benefit of adding empagliflozin to the standard of care (SoC) vs the SoC alone for HF in the Philippines.

Factors associated with poor outcomes in patients with maple syrup urine disease in a tertiary government hospital: A retrospective cohort study.

This study aims to determine the factors associated with mortality and neurodevelopmental morbidity in patients with Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD) seen at a tertiary hospital in the Philippines during a 10-year period. The medical records of patients diagnosed with MSUD seen at Philippine General Hospital (PGH) from 2010 to 2019 were reviewed. Socioeconomic, healthcare, and clinical factors were determined.

Establishing Core elements for a Prehospital Emergency Care Systems Evaluation Tool (PECSET) for systems in early stages of development: A Delphi consensus.

Objectives: International Prehospital Emergency Care (PEC) standards have been primarily developed by and for high resource settings. Most PEC systems in Asia, which are still in the early stages of development, struggle to achieve these standards. There is a need for an evaluation tool which can define achievable basic building blocks for PEC systems in low resource settings to improve quality of PEC.

Association between body mass index and clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction and reduced systolic function: Analysis of PARADISE-MI trial data.

Aims: The relationship between body mass index (BMI) and clinical outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease, including acute heart failure (AHF) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI), remains debated. This study investigates the association between BMI and clinical outcomes within the PARADISE-MI cohort, while also evaluating the impact of angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) versus angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-I) treatment on this relationship.

Methods And Results: The analysis included 5589 patients from the PARADISE-MI study with available baseline BMI data.

Risk factors and clinical characteristics associated with post-radioactive iodine thyroid storm.

The occurrence of post-radioactive iodine thyroid storm among patients with hyperthyroidism is relatively rare and only a few cases have been reported. We conducted a literature review of cases reported from 1951 to 2023 and determined the risk factors and clinical characteristics of patients who developed thyroid storm. A total of 19 cases were documented and reviewed.

Role of sleep and neurochemical biomarkers in synaptic plasticity related to neurological and psychiatric disorders: A scoping review.

Sleep is vital for maintaining physical and mental well-being, impacting cognitive functions like memory and learning through neuroplasticity. Sleep disturbances prevalent in neurological and psychiatric disorders exacerbate cognitive decline, imposing societal burdens. Exploring the relationship between sleep and neuroplasticity elucidates the mechanisms influencing cognition, particularly amidst the prevalent sleep disturbances in these clinical populations.

Changes in Waveguiding Cone Photoreceptors and Color Vision in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus.

Purpose: Although it is well known that photoreceptor damage and color vision loss occur in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR), the relationship between structural and functional changes in diabetes mellitus (DM) remains unclear. Using highly sensitive measures of photoreceptor structure and function, we aim to determine whether early loss of color sensitivity in DM is also accompanied by decreased cone density.

Methods: Monocular data from 26 patients with DM and 25 healthy controls were examined to assess cone photoreceptor metrics, using confocal adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy, and red/green (RG) and yellow/blue (YB) color vision thresholds, using the Colour Assessment and Diagnosis test.

Rehabilitation Management of a Patient with Median Nerve Entrapment from Venipuncture-associated Hematoma in Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever: A Case Report.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a severe form of dengue presenting commonly with bleeding diathesis, but rarely with peripheral nervous system manifestations. Proximal median neuropathy comprises 1% of upper limb compression syndromes, and this case is the first to report injury to the proximal median nerve due to compression from hematoma formation. This case report presents the rehabilitation process of a 25-year-old Filipino female median nerve entrapment from venipuncture-associated hematoma presenting as burning sensation on the medial elbow, forearm and hand, weak flexion movement of her left thumb, index, and middle fingers.

Rehabilitation Management of a Pediatric Patient with Modified Van Nes Prosthesis after Type B-IIIA Hip Rotationplasty: A Case Report.

Van Nes rotationplasty has gained popularity as a surgical treatment for malignant bone tumors without resorting to amputation. However, the nature of the surgery poses unique challenges in the rehabilitation management in order to optimize safety and functional mobility. We describe a case of a 6-year-old female with Ewing's sarcoma of the right femur who underwent Van Nes Type B-IIIA rotationplasty.

Duration of In-patient Physical Therapy at a Tertiary Hospital: Implications of a Time and Motion Study.

Background And Objectives: Inpatient physical therapy (PT) care entails careful provision of service for individuals across a spectrum of disorders needing evidence-based physical rehabilitation during their hospital admission. The main difficulty is identifying adequate time allocation for safe patient service within an eight-hour working time frame. At a selected tertiary teaching government-run hospital, an arbitrary personnel-population ratio method is used for human resource allocation which may lead to issues in service delivery and healthcare workforce wellness.

Wheelchair Recipients' Perceived Barriers to In-person and Virtual Follow-up Consultations: A Cross-sectional Study.

Background: The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) is a tertiary government hospital that serves as the national referral center for Filipinos from across the country. In partnership with Latter-Day Saint Charities (LDSC), PGH has been serving patients in need of mobility devices, such as wheelchairs, through in-person services from screening to assessment, measurement, assembly, fitting, and mobility training. Given the patients' barriers to in-person follow-up consultations, regular healthcare provision has been challenging.