INTRODUCTION: In December 2019, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) virus emerged and caused a worldwide pandemic, leading to measures being imposed by many countries to reduce its transmission. Singapore implemented the 'circuit breaker', which restricted all movements except for access to necessities and healthcare services. We aimed to investigate the impact of lockdown measures on the pattern of trauma and its effects. METHODS: An observational, retrospective, single-centre descriptive study was conducted using the trauma registry in Singapore General Hospital. It included patients above 18 years old who presented to the emergency department with trauma and were subsequently admitted. Patients admitted from 1 February 2020 to 31 July 2020 and those admitted during the same timeframe in 2019 were studied. Subgroup analyses were performed for patients aged ≥65 years and those <65 years. RESULTS: A total of 1,037 patients were included for analysis. A 17.6% increase in trauma presentations was seen from 2019 to 2020. Patients aged ≥65 years accounted for the rise in admissions. The predominant mechanism of injury was falls at home for older patients and vehicular accidents in patients <65 years. There were no significant differences in injury severity score, intensive care/high-dependency unit admission rates, length of stay, mortality rate, and subsequent need for inpatient rehabilitation. CONCLUSION Our study provided information on differences in trauma presentations before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further studies are required to better inform on additional precautionary measures needed to reduce trauma and improve safety during future lockdowns and pandemics.
Humans ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Wounds and Injuries/epidemiology* ; Aged, 80 and over ; Middle Aged ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data* ; Adult ; Emergency Service, Hospital/statistics & numerical data* ; Registries ; Accidental Falls/statistics & numerical data* ; Pandemics ; Patient Admission/statistics & numerical data* ; Length of Stay ; Accidents, Traffic/statistics & numerical data*

Humans ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; Singapore

Objective: Primary toxoplasmosis is usually subclinical, but in severely immunocompromised patients, it may be life0threatening. For this reason, it is important to monitor situations related to non-noticeable diseases among foreign arrivals in the country. In this study, we aimed to survey toxoplasmosis among migrants from Indonesia to Malaysia. Methods: In a prospective observational study, a serological evaluation on toxoplasmosis among 336 Indonesian migrants was conducted in a plantation and a detention camp. A study-subject information sheet was used to obtain demographic information and venous blood samples for the serological study to determine Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM antibodies. The control group was composed of 198 local Malaysians working in the same plantation and detention camp. Results: The age of study participants ranged from 19-45 years ( geometric mean 29.9). One hundred and thirty-eight legal Indonesian workers (42%) were found positive for IgG and twenty workers (6%) were positive for IgM. The high prevalence rate of 54.4% among the illegal Indonesian migrants is significantly higher than that for local Malaysian workers and detainees from other countries (P<0.05). No significant difference in the prevalence rate was noted among the migrants or local workers when they were grouped according to agricultural and non-agricultural occupations (p>0.05).Conclusion: The continuous introduction of these infections may, in the long term, influence the epidemiology and further compromise efforts in control and prevention. A routine screening for toxoplasmosis may be indicated for sub-groups of migrants in this country.