INTRODUCTIONWe presented the findings from 2 seroprevalence studies conducted 6 years apart, so as to determine changes in the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity rate and immunity to hepatitis B virus (HBV) among Singapore residents aged 18 to 69 years, and to assess the impact of a 4-year catch-up hepatitis B immunisation programme for adolescents and young adults launched in 2001.

MATERIALS AND METHODSTwo hepatitis B seroprevalence studies (HBSS) were conducted in 1999 and 2005 based on stored blood samples collected from 4698 participants aged 18 to 69 years during the national health survey (NHS) 1998 and from 3460 participants during the NHS 2004, respectively. Serology for HBsAg, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs) were tested by enzyme immunoassay in HBSS 1999 and electrochemiluminescence in HBSS 2005.

RESULTSThe overall age-standardised prevalence of HBsAg among Singapore residents aged 18 to 69 years decreased significantly from 4.0% in HBSS 1999 to 2.8% in HBSS 2005 (P = 0.002). The age-standardised prevalence of HBsAg in males (4.9% in 1999) and Chinese (4.7% in 1999) both decreased significantly to 2.7% and 2.8%, respectively in 2005. The overall age-standardised population immunity to HBV (anti-HBs >10 mIU/ml) increased from 39.7% in 1999 to 42.1% in 2005 (P = 0.019). In particular, the age-specific prevalence of anti-HBs showed a significant increase among those in the age group of 18 to 29 years from 27.9% in 1999 to 41.7% in 2005 (P <0.001) and among those in the age group of 30 to 39 years from 39.9% in 1999 to 44.7% in 2005 (P = 0.021).

CONCLUSIONThere was an overall decline in the HBsAg positivity rate as well as an overall increase in population immunity to HBV. Following the 4-year catch-up immunisation programme, there was a significant increase in the immunity to HBV infection in the younger population aged 18 to 29 years.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Biomedical Research ; Confidence Intervals ; Female ; Health Surveys ; Hepatitis B ; blood ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; immunology ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; immunology ; Hepatitis B Vaccines ; Humans ; Immunization Programs ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Population Surveillance ; Risk Factors ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: A subset of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer (ROC) may benefit from antiestrogen therapy with higher response rates reported in tumors that are strongly estrogen receptor (ER)-positive (ER+). PARAGON is a basket trial that incorporates 7 phase 2 trials investigating the activity of anastrozole in patients with ER+ and/or progesterone receptor (PR)-positive (PR+) recurrent/metastatic gynecological cancers. METHODS: Postmenopausal women with ER+ and/or PR+ ROC, who were asymptomatic and had cancer antigen 125 (CA125) progression after response to first line chemotherapy, where chemotherapy was not clinically indicated. Patients received anastrozole 1 mg daily until progression or unacceptable toxicity. RESULTS: Fifty-four patients were enrolled (52 evaluable). Clinical benefit at three months (primary endpoint) was observed in 18 patients (34.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI]=23%–48%). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 2.7 months (95% CI=2.1–3.1). The median duration of clinical benefit was 6.5 months (95% CI=2.8–11.7). Most patients progressed within 6 months of starting anastrozole but 12 (22%) continued treatment for longer than 6 months. Anastrozole was well tolerated. In the exploratory analysis, ER histoscores and the intensity of ER staining did not correlate with clinical benefit rate or PFS. CONCLUSION: A subset of asymptomatic patients with ER+ and/or PR+ ROC and CA125 progression had durable clinical benefit on anastrozole, with acceptable toxicity. Anastrozole may delay symptomatic progression and the time to subsequent chemotherapy. The future challenge is to identify the subset of patients most likely to benefit from an aromatase inhibitor and whether the clinical benefit could be increased by the addition of other agents.
Aromatase ; Aromatase Inhibitors ; CA-125 Antigen ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Estrogen Receptor Modulators ; Estrogens ; Female ; Humans ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Progesterone ; Receptors, Progesterone

INTRODUCTION: Frailty is associated with adverse health outcomes and can be measured using the FRAIL scale. In Singapore, its use has been studied in tertiary hospitals but not in community hospitals. A tool to predict rehabilitation outcomes would allow for better risk stratification and allocation of resources. We aimed to determine whether the FRAIL scale is associated with rehabilitation outcomes in patients admitted to the community hospital setting, where post-acute care and rehabilitation are primarily delivered. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study. The FRAIL scale was utilised to screen 560 older adults who were admitted to a community hospital for rehabilitation. Data were analysed to determine the relationship between baseline characteristics and frailty status, with rehabilitation outcome measures of absolute functional gain, rehabilitation effectiveness, rehabilitation efficiency, length of stay and discharge destination. RESULTS: The combined score of the FRAIL scale showed significant negative association with absolute functional gain (P < 0.001), rehabilitation effectiveness (P < 0.001) and rehabilitation efficiency (P < 0.001), whereas it was positively associated with increased length of stay (P < 0.05) and a need for continued support in increased care settings (P < 0.001). Individual components of the FRAIL scale, in particular, the 'fatigue', 'ambulation' and 'loss of weight' components, appeared to be highly associated with rehabilitation effectiveness and efficiency, especially among pre-frail patients. CONCLUSION The utility of the FRAIL scale as an indicator of frailty status and its association with rehabilitative outcomes in the post-acute care setting were demonstrated. Moreover, the FRAIL scale may better predict the rehabilitative progress of pre-frail patients.
Humans ; Aged ; Frailty/diagnosis* ; Frail Elderly ; Geriatric Assessment ; Hospitals, Community ; Retrospective Studies ; Length of Stay ; Cohort Studies ; Treatment Outcome