INTRODUCTION: Adolescent depression is prevalent, and teen suicide rates are on the rise locally. A systemic review to understand associated risk and protective factors is important to strengthen measures for the prevention and early detection of adolescent depression and suicide in Singapore. This systematic review aims to identify the factors associated with adolescent depression in Singapore. METHODS: A systematic search on the following databases was performed on 21 May 2020: PubMed, EMBASE and PsycINFO. Full texts were reviewed for eligibility, and the included studies were appraised for quality using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. Narrative synthesis of the finalised articles was performed through thematic analysis. RESULTS: In total, eight studies were included in this review. The four factors associated with adolescent depression identified were: (1) sociodemographic factors (gender, ethnicity); (2) psychological factors, including childhood maltreatment exposure and psychological constructs (hope, optimism); (3) coexisting chronic medical conditions (asthma); and (4) lifestyle factors (sleep inadequacy, excessive internet use and pathological gaming). CONCLUSION The identified factors were largely similar to those reported in the global literature, except for sleep inadequacy along with conspicuously absent factors such as academic stress and strict parenting, which should prompt further research in these areas. Further research should focus on current and prospective interventions to improve mental health literacy, targeting sleep duration, internet use and gaming, and mitigating the risk of depression in patients with chronic disease in the primary care and community setting.
Humans ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Adolescent ; Risk Factors ; Depression/etiology* ; Protective Factors ; Male ; Female ; Life Style ; Suicide

INTRODUCTION: Cancer patients attending emergency departments (EDs) often present with acute symptoms and are frequently admitted. This study aimed to characterise the profile of oncology patients who were discharged from the ED. METHODS: This was a retrospective audit of patients with cancer-related diagnoses who presented to the ED at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) over a 6-month period from 1 October 2018 to 31 March 2019 and were directly discharged from the ED. Data was extracted from the hospital's electronic medical record system. RESULTS: Of the 492 participants included in the study, the majority were triaged as Priority 2 (61.4%), while 30.7% were triaged as Priority 3, 6.9% as Priority 1 and 1.0% as Priority 4. There was no statistical difference between the National Early Warning scores across the different triage categories in these patients. The most common complaint was (44.3%), followed by genitourinary symptoms (19.5%) and those related to devices, catheters or stomas (17.3%). More investigations of all types were done for patients being managed in Priority 1 (57.6%) than in the other triage categories (40.1% for Priority 2, 23.2% for Priority 3 and 12.0% for Priority 4). Treatment procedures carried out were mainly symptomatic (analgesics, antiemetics, proton pump inhibitors) for 79.8% of the patients. There were no significant differences in the proportion of patients requiring various treatment modalities among the triage categories. CONCLUSION Selected oncological patients may potentially be managed in an ambulatory setting.
Humans ; Emergency Service, Hospital/statistics & numerical data* ; Retrospective Studies ; Female ; Neoplasms/diagnosis* ; Male ; Singapore ; Patient Discharge/statistics & numerical data* ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Triage ; Adult ; Emergencies ; Aged, 80 and over

INTRODUCTION: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of adjunct systemic corticosteroid therapy in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with bacterial community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). METHOD: We searched MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane Library to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published from the databases' inception to February 2024. All RCTs evaluating the effect of systemic corticosteroids on mortality, compared to standard of care among adult bacterial CAP patients admitted to ICU were included. Bayesian meta-analysis was conducted in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. Independent authors reviewed each study for eligibility, extracted data and assessed risk of bias in duplicate, with discrepancies referred to senior reviewers. RESULTS: A total of 6 RCTs comprising 1585 patients were included for analysis. In ICU patients with severe CAP who were treated with corticosteroids, there was no significant reduction in hospital mortality (risk ratio [RR] 0.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.39-1.14, certainty of evidence: ⊕⊕⊝⊝ low) or all-cause mortality (RR 0.68, 95% CI 0.34-1.22, ⊕⊕⊝⊝ low) compared with placebo. The use of corticosteroids showed a significant reduction in mechanical ventilation post-intervention (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.37-0.86, ⊕⊕⊕⊕ high) compared with placebo. In a subgroup analysis of patients treated with hydrocortisone, hospital mortality was significantly reduced (RR 0.45, 95% CI 0.20-0.88, ⊕⊕⊝⊝ low) compared with placebo. There was no significant increase in gastrointestinal bleeding, secondary infections or hyperglycaemia in patients treated with corticosteroids. CONCLUSION Corticosteroids significantly reduced mechanical ventilation requirements, and hydrocor-tisone significantly reduced hospital mortality. Further work is required to determine whether other corticosteroids reduce mortality among ICU patients with CAP.
Humans ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use* ; Bayes Theorem ; Community-Acquired Infections/mortality* ; Critical Illness ; Hospital Mortality ; Intensive Care Units ; Pneumonia, Bacterial/mortality* ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Respiration, Artificial

Background: Sarcomas, a heterogenous group of malignancies consisting of tumors, are rarely encountered in most general oncology clinics. As a result, most general oncologists have very little experience in dealing with these tumors and resulting in poorer treatment and survival outcomes. Having successful collaborative efforts in research, the Asian Sarcoma Consortium (ASC) pioneered a Sarcoma Preceptorship Program with its main goal of increasing awareness of the multidisciplinary approach in the management of sarcomas. Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the ASC Sarcoma Preceptorship Program using the first 2 levels of the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model: Level 1) Reaction – through using satisfaction surveys; and Level 2) Knowledge – focusing on the amount of information gained from the activity evaluated by test-retest method. Methods: The 2-day preceptorship program held in Singapore utilized educational activities such as didactic lectures, multidisciplinary case discussions, and case presentations. The program was evaluated using: 1) pre-test and posttest; 2) satisfaction survey from ASC; and 3) satisfaction survey made by the sponsor, Novartis Pharma. Results: The preceptorship program enrolled 30 participants, most from the Asia-Pacific region. The overall results from the satisfaction surveys were generally optimistic, with results showing high levels of satisfaction with regard to the time allotment, scope of topics, and how helpful each session was. Test results showed that participants scored lower in post-test as compared to the pre-test. Computation of the Coefficient of Test reliability showed that although the pre-test was highly reliable, this was not true of the post-test. Conclusions Based on the Level 1 evaluation, the program was successful in terms of both participant and faculty satisfaction. However, certain areas for improvement were identified and recommendations were made in order to effect improvements for future iterations of this preceptorship.
soft tissue sarcoma ; clinical preceptorship

Background: Sarcomas, a heterogenous group of malignancies consisting of tumors, are rarely encountered in most general oncology clinics. As a result, most general oncologists have very little experience in dealing with these tumors and resulting in poorer treatment and survival outcomes. Having successful collaborative efforts in research, the Asian Sarcoma Consortium (ASC) pioneered a Sarcoma Preceptorship Program with its main goal of increasing awareness of the multidisciplinary approach in the management of sarcomas. Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the ASC Sarcoma Preceptorship Program using the first 2 levels of the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model: Level 1) Reaction – through using satisfaction surveys; and Level 2) Knowledge – focusing on the amount of information gained from the activity evaluated by test-retest method. Methods: The 2-day preceptorship program held in Singapore utilized educational activities such as didactic lectures, multidisciplinary case discussions, and case presentations. The program was evaluated using: 1) pre-test and posttest; 2) satisfaction survey from ASC; and 3) satisfaction survey made by the sponsor, Novartis Pharma. Results: The preceptorship program enrolled 30 participants, most from the Asia-Pacific region. The overall results from the satisfaction surveys were generally optimistic, with results showing high levels of satisfaction with regard to the time allotment, scope of topics, and how helpful each session was. Test results showed that participants scored lower in post-test as compared to the pre-test. Computation of the Coefficient of Test reliability showed that although the pre-test was highly reliable, this was not true of the post-test. Conclusions Based on the Level 1 evaluation, the program was successful in terms of both participant and faculty satisfaction. However, certain areas for improvement were identified and recommendations were made in order to effect improvements for future iterations of this preceptorship.
Sarcoma

The Asia-Pacific Working Group on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was established in Cebu, Philippines, under the auspices of the Asian Pacific Association of Gastroenterology with the goal of improving IBD care in Asia. This consensus is carried out in collaboration with Asian Organization for Crohn's and Colitis. With biologic agents and biosimilars becoming more established, it is necessary to conduct a review on existing literature and establish a consensus on when and how to introduce biologic agents and biosimilars in the conjunction with conventional treatments for ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) in Asia. These statements also address how pharmacogenetics influence the treatments of UC and CD and provide guidance on response monitoring and strategies to restore loss of response. Finally, the review includes statements on how to manage treatment alongside possible hepatitis B and tuberculosis infections, both common in Asia. These statements have been prepared and voted upon by members of IBD workgroup employing the modified Delphi process. These statements do not intend to be all-encompassing and future revisions are likely as new data continue to emerge.
Adalimumab ; Asia ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Biological Factors ; Biosimilar Pharmaceuticals ; Colitis ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; Consensus ; Cooperative Behavior ; Crohn Disease ; Gastroenterology ; Hepatitis B ; Humans ; Immunologic Factors ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Infliximab ; Pharmacogenetics ; Philippines ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Tuberculosis ; Ulcer

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes mellitus is a major public health issue in Singapore. To shape healthcare policies for the primary prevention of diabetes, it is crucial to understand Singaporeans' knowledge, attitudes and practices related to diabetes and its prevention. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and lifestyles of individuals without diabetes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional household survey was performed between 31 January to 3 February 2019 to examine knowledge, attitudes and practices related to diabetes. Inclusion criteria of the participants included: 1) Singaporeans/permanent residents, 2) between 30 to 64 years old, and 3) who did not have a diagnosis of diabetes. Logistic and linear regression models were used to analyse the association of knowledge and attitudes with physical activity and diet habits, respectively. RESULTS: Among 806 participants, 72.2% did not meet the Health Promotion Board's physical activity recommendation. Physical activity was associated with better diabetes knowledge (odds ratio [OR] 5.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.65-17.53, = 0.049), stronger beliefs in diabetes prevention (OR 3.36, 95% CI = 1.02-11.12, = 0.047) and lower levels of worry about diabetes (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.17-1.00, = 0.049). Neither knowledge nor beliefs or worries about diabetes was associated with diet. CONCLUSION There is a need to reinforce the importance of physical activity and healthy diet in preventing diabetes. Although improving the knowledge level of diabetes may increase physical activity of the population, it is unlikely to improve dietary choices without effective behavior change interventions.