The International Severe Asthma Registry (ISAR) was established in 2017 to advance the understanding of severe asthma and its management, thereby improving patient care worldwide. As the first global registry for adults with severe asthma, ISAR enabled individual registries to standardize and pool their data, creating a comprehensive, harmonized dataset with sufficient statistical power to address key research questions and knowledge gaps. Today, ISAR is the largest repository of real-world data on severe asthma, curating data on nearly 35,000 patients from 28 countries worldwide, and has become a leading contributor to severe asthma research. Research using ISAR data has provided valuable insights on the characteristics of severe asthma, its burdens and risk factors, real-world treatment effectiveness, and barriers to specialist care, which are collectively informing improved asthma management. Besides changing clinical thinking via research, ISAR aims to advance real-world practice through initiatives that improve registry data quality and severe asthma care. In 2024, ISAR refined essential research variables to enhance data quality and launched a web-based data acquisition and reporting system (QISAR), which integrates data collection with clinical consultations and enables longitudinal data tracking at patient, center, and population levels. Quality improvement priorities include collecting standardized data during consultations and tracking and optimizing patient journeys via QISAR and integrating primary/secondary care pathways to expedite specialist severe asthma management and facilitate clinical trial recruitment. ISAR envisions a future in which timely specialist referral and initiation of biologic therapy can obviate long-term systemic corticosteroid use and enable more patients to achieve remission.

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are acknowledged as key drivers in realizing health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The University of the Philippines Manila, College of Public Health (UP CPH) together with the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH), hosted the 53rd APACPH International Conference last 21-23 September 2022. The conference discussed current issues relating to the attainment of SDGs and promoted collaboration of leading academic institutions and other stakeholders in addressing various public health challenges. The conference revolved around the challenges and opportunities in attaining health-related SDGs, and the good practices and roles of HEIs in addressing health disparities. The lack of certificati on framework of public health tertiary programs, pedagogy and infrastructure, and ambiguous roles and network of public health professionals were discussed. The conference served as a platform for discussing potential resolutions and ways forward in addressing these challenges. Opportunities for improvement such as updating of policies and curricula, strengthening of internship and community engagement programs, establishment of capacity-building partnerships and programs, and developing multidisciplinary-competent faculty and students were identified. This paper providesthe highlights of the conference focusing on the good practices and roles of HEIs in addressing health disparities, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, and other issues and challenges in attaining SDGs.

BACKGROUND

State universities in the Philippines should comply with the 2020 Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) standards for government workers and must be guided by the 2017 ASEAN University Network’s Healthy University Framework (HUF) for them to become healthy universities. Both policy documents identify OSH policy and programs as key components.

This study aimed to explore the challenges and opportunities in the implementation of health and safety policies and programs in a state university in the Philippines.

A case study design was used with a state university as its study site. Investigators conducted 14 key informant interviews and nine focus group discussions which were participated by system officials, campus officials, academic teaching staff, academic non-teaching Staff, support staff, and students. Thematic analysis was used to identify and understand emerging patterns and themes.

The results generated seven themes consisting of Policy and Committee, Dedicated Personnel and Unit,Budget and Technology, Collaboration, Programs and Services, Working and Learning Environment, and Role Models. The identified challenges in the implementation of health and safety programs in the university were: (1) limited budget to implement initiatives, (2) lack of collaboration among its offices, and (3) absence of a dedicated unit and staff. There were also opportunities to improve implementation: (1) strong implementation of certain policies and programs, (2) presence of a good working and learning environment, and (3) existence of role models.

The identified challenges and opportunities correspond to the elements of the system and infrastructure considered as principal determinants of a healthy university. There is a need to recognize the interrelatedness of such elements to ensure effective implementation of health and safety programs in the university. It also underscores the relevance of the HUF in promoting OSH within a university context.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that most of the tuberculosis (TB) cases are aged between 15 to 54 years old, the working population. This study described workplace policies on TB in selected low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) in Asia-Pacific.

Among the LMICs, countries wherein TB is a public health concern were included. Six policies written in English were included in this study and were reviewed based on the components of the TB workplace programs that were extracted from the WHO Guidelines for Workplace TB Control Activities.

The Philippine policy had the most number of components while those of Cambodia and Papua New Guinea had the least. Only the component on implementing environmental controls was common among the policies. Components on respecting patient rights and confidentiality, tailoring of workload to TB patient’s state of health, registration of all patients with TB diagnosis, reporting of cases to central NTP office, recording of standard treatment outcome, and inclusion of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) provisions were missing for the majority of the policy documents.

The workplace TB program policies included in this study can be reviewed and updated accordingly, with the coverage expanding to all workplaces. The policies can also integrate measures on COVID-19 as the pandemic has slowed the progress in TB control. With the similarities in the preventive measures against TB and COVID-19, this can be an avenue to develop integrated policies especially for workplaces.

INTRODUCTION

Epidermal inclusion cysts require surgical intervention to prevent recurrence and symptoms. Elliptical excision is definitive but results in longer scar, while minimal incision techniques offer better cosmetic outcomes despite higher recurrence rates probably due to incomplete excision. To date, there are currently no local studies published.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted from October 2023 to May 2024 at a dermatology center in the Philippines. Patients were randomly assigned to minimal incision or elliptical excision techniques. Key metrics included operation time, scar length, post-operative complications, Hollander wound evaluation score (HWES), and histopathological completeness of excision.

Median operation duration was 31.86 minutes, with no significant difference between techniques (p = 0.5795). Post-operative scars were longer in the excision group (mean: 2.38 ± 0.66 cm) versus the minimal incision group (p < 0.001). Completeness of excision was higher in the excision group (83%) compared to the minimal incision group (27%) (p = 0.0123). Follow-up scar length was shorter in the minimal incision group (mean: 0.44 ± 0.21 cm) versus the excision group (mean: 2.1 ± 0.63 cm) (p < 0.001). HWES scores showed no significant difference in wound healing and aesthetic satisfaction.

Minimal incision technique results in shorter scars but lower completeness of excision compared to elliptical excision. Both techniques have similar long-term outcomes in wound healing and aesthetic satisfaction, with no recurrences or complications beyond two weeks. The choice should balance scar length and completeness of cyst removal, considering patient-specific factors.

OBJECTIVE

Despite being a preventable and treatable condition, central microbial keratitis (CMK) and its complications remain to be a significant cause of vision loss in our country. This study presents the demographic profile, risk factors, etiologies, treatments, and outcomes of CMK in the Philippines.

The study was a two-center, prospective, non-randomized clinical study involving the patients of the External Disease and Cornea Clinics of two tertiary eye referral centers in the Philippines. It was conducted as the Philippine leg of the Asia Cornea Society Infectious Keratitis Study (ASCIKS).1 Patients with a clinical diagnosis of CMK rendered by a cornea specialist, and who signed the consent form, were recruited into the study. They underwent uniform sample collection and culture techniques as described in the ACSIKS. All patients were followed-up for 6 months. Data collected included demographics, risk factors, culture results, management, and treatment outcomes. Descriptive statistics and frequency were used to analyze the data.

A total of 348 patients diagnosed with CMK were included. Trauma (65.5%) among the middle-aged (42.9 ± 17.9 years) male population was the most significant risk factor for development of CMK, followed by contact lens wear (12.9%), prior ocular surgery (6.0%), and ocular surface diseases (3.4%). Bacterial keratitis (53.2%) was still the most common etiology of CMK, followed by fungal keratitis (27.0%), Acanthamoeba keratitis (5.7%), and viral keratitis (2.0%). Aspergillus species (18.3%) were the most common microbial isolates. Pseudomonas species (13.9%) were the most common bacterial isolates. The median time from onset of symptoms to consultation with the study centers was 2 weeks. Medical treatment was enough to treat the infection in 34.8% of cases. Surgical intervention was necessitated in 22.6% with evisceration/enucleation done in 1 out of 3 patients who had surgery.

Bacterial infection remains the most common cause of CMK in the Philippines, followed by fungal infection. Significant risk factors include trauma and contact lens wear. Aspergillus species and Pseudomonas species were the most common fungal and bacterial isolates, respectively. Despite medical treatment, almost a quarter of the cases still required surgical intervention.

The International Severe Asthma Registry (ISAR) was established in 2017 to advance the understanding of severe asthma and its management, thereby improving patient care worldwide. As the first global registry for adults with severe asthma, ISAR enabled individual registries to standardize and pool their data, creating a comprehensive, harmonized dataset with sufficient statistical power to address key research questions and knowledge gaps. Today, ISAR is the largest repository of real-world data on severe asthma, curating data on nearly 35,000 patients from 28 countries worldwide, and has become a leading contributor to severe asthma research. Research using ISAR data has provided valuable insights on the characteristics of severe asthma, its burdens and risk factors, real-world treatment effectiveness, and barriers to specialist care, which are collectively informing improved asthma management. Besides changing clinical thinking via research, ISAR aims to advance real-world practice through initiatives that improve registry data quality and severe asthma care. In 2024, ISAR refined essential research variables to enhance data quality and launched a web-based data acquisition and reporting system (QISAR), which integrates data collection with clinical consultations and enables longitudinal data tracking at patient, center, and population levels. Quality improvement priorities include collecting standardized data during consultations and tracking and optimizing patient journeys via QISAR and integrating primary/secondary care pathways to expedite specialist severe asthma management and facilitate clinical trial recruitment. ISAR envisions a future in which timely specialist referral and initiation of biologic therapy can obviate long-term systemic corticosteroid use and enable more patients to achieve remission.

A 61-year-old woman presented with a 2-month history of non-painful left eye proptosis. Imaging studies showed a superotemporal mass in the left orbit with intracranial extension. Surgical excision of the orbitocranial mass was performed and histopathologic examination revealed metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma. She subsequently underwent total thyroidectomy. Orbital metastasis from thyroid carcinoma is rare and can be the initial manifestation of occult disease in 63% of cases.

Background: and Purpose In the ESCAPE-NA1 (Efficacy and Safety of Nerinetide for the Treatment of Acute Ischaemic Stroke) trial, treatment with nerinetide was associated with improved outcomes in patients who did not receive intravenous alteplase. We compared the effect of nerinetide on clinical outcomes in patients without concurrent intravenous alteplase treatment within different patient subgroups. Methods: ESCAPE-NA1 was a multicenter randomized trial in which acute stroke patients with baseline Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) >4 undergoing endovascular treatment (EVT) were randomized to intravenous nerinetide or placebo. The primary outcome was independence (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score 0–2) at 90 days. We assessed baseline, clinical, and imaging variables as predictors of outcome and for evidence of treatment effect modification. We constructed two multivariable models using variables known prior to randomization and variables known immediately post-EVT procedure to provide adjusted estimates of effect. We assessed for evidence of treatment effect modification using multiplicative interaction terms within each model. Results: Four hundred forty-six patients were included in the analysis. Clinical outcomes were better in patients randomized to the nerinetide arm (mRS 0–2: 59.4% vs. 49.8%). There was possible treatment effect modification by ASPECTS score; patients with ASPECTS 8–10 showed a larger treatment effect compared to those with lower ASPECTS score. Younger age, lower NIHSS score, lower baseline serum glucose, absence of atrial fibrillation at baseline, higher ASPECTS score, middle cerebral artery (vs. internal carotid artery) occlusion, use of conscious or no sedation (vs. general anesthesia), and faster treatment were all predictors of favorable outcome. Conclusion Patients in the nerinetide arm who were not treated with concurrent alteplase showed improved clinical outcomes and the treatment effect was larger among patients with favorable ASPECTS profiles.

The International Severe Asthma Registry (ISAR) was established in 2017 to advance the understanding of severe asthma and its management, thereby improving patient care worldwide. As the first global registry for adults with severe asthma, ISAR enabled individual registries to standardize and pool their data, creating a comprehensive, harmonized dataset with sufficient statistical power to address key research questions and knowledge gaps. Today, ISAR is the largest repository of real-world data on severe asthma, curating data on nearly 35,000 patients from 28 countries worldwide, and has become a leading contributor to severe asthma research. Research using ISAR data has provided valuable insights on the characteristics of severe asthma, its burdens and risk factors, real-world treatment effectiveness, and barriers to specialist care, which are collectively informing improved asthma management. Besides changing clinical thinking via research, ISAR aims to advance real-world practice through initiatives that improve registry data quality and severe asthma care. In 2024, ISAR refined essential research variables to enhance data quality and launched a web-based data acquisition and reporting system (QISAR), which integrates data collection with clinical consultations and enables longitudinal data tracking at patient, center, and population levels. Quality improvement priorities include collecting standardized data during consultations and tracking and optimizing patient journeys via QISAR and integrating primary/secondary care pathways to expedite specialist severe asthma management and facilitate clinical trial recruitment. ISAR envisions a future in which timely specialist referral and initiation of biologic therapy can obviate long-term systemic corticosteroid use and enable more patients to achieve remission.