Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore最新文献

Introduction: Pleural infections are a significant cause of mortality. Intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy (IPFT) utilising alteplase and dornase is a treatment option for patients unsuitable for surgery. The optimal dose of alteplase is unknown, and factors affecting treatment success in an Asian population are unclear. We sought to determine the factors affecting treatment success in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore and evaluate the efficacy of lower doses of IPFT.

Method: A retrospective analysis of patients with pleural infections treated with IPFT between July 2016 and November 2023 was performed. Treatment success was defined as survival without surgery at 3 months. Data, including patient demographics; comorbidities; RAPID (renal, age, purulence, infection source and dietary factor) scores; and radiological characteristics, were extracted from medical records and analysed. Linear mixed effects model and logistic regression were performed to determine factors affecting treatment success.

Results: A total of 131 cases were analysed. Of these, 51 (38.9%) reported positive pleural fluid culture, and the most common organism was Streptoccocus anginosus. Mean age was 65 years (standard deviation [SD] 15.5). Mean time from chest tube insertion to first dose of IPFT was 10.2 days (SD 11.5). Median starting dose of alteplase was 5 mg. Treatment success was reported in 112 cases (85.5%). There were no significant differences between the alteplase dose and radiological clearance. Patient age (odds ratio [OR] 0.94, confidence interval [CI] 0.89-0.98) and interval between chest tube insertion to first dose (OR 0.95, CI 0.91-0.99) were statistically significant variables for the treatment success.

Conclusion: Lower starting doses of alteplase remain effective in the treatment of pleural infection. Early IPFT may result in better outcomes.

Introduction: Timely detection of dementia enables early access to dementia-specific care services and interventions. Various stakeholders brought together to refine Singapore's dementia care strategy identified a lack of a standardised cognitive screening tool and the absence of a comparative review of existing tools. We hence conducted a rapid review to evaluate the diagnostic performance of brief cognitive screening tools in identifying possible dementia among community-dwelling older adults in Singapore.

Method: Brief cognitive screening tools were defined as interviews or tests administered in ≤5 minutes. Studies performed in Singapore on older adults ≥60 years, which used locally-validated comparators and reported outcomes of clinician-diagnosed dementia were included. Rapid review methodology was used in study screening and selection. Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies version 2 tool was used for risk-of-bias assessment. A negative likelihood ratio (LR-) of ≤0.2 was defined a priori as having a moderate effect in shifting post-test probability.

Results: Fourteen studies were included in qualitative synthesis: 3 studies evaluated self-/informant-based tools only, 4 evaluated performance-based measures only and 7 evaluated combination approaches. Eight-item Informant Interview to Differentiate Aging and Dementia (AD8) was the most studied self-/ informant-based tool. One study found informant AD8 (iAD8) superior to self-rated AD8. Another study found iAD8 superior to Mini-Mental State Examination. Among performance-based measures, Abbreviated Mental Test, Visual Cognitive Assessment Test-Short form version 1 (VCAT-S1), VCAT-S2 and Mini-Cog had LR- <0.2. Minimal improvement of combination approaches compared to iAD8 alone was demonstrated.

Conclusion: Our review suggests the limited utility of dementia screening in communities with low dementia prevalence and supports a case-finding approach instead. With a reliable informant, iAD8 alone has sufficient discriminant ability. Further research is needed to specifically assess the diagnostic ability of performance-based tools in community settings.

Introduction: There are limited reports on the epidemiology of paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions, deaths and organ donation candidacy. We aimed to describe PICU admission characteristics and outcomes, determine risk factors for mortality, and perform an independent assessment of missed organ donation opportunities.

Method: We adopted a clinical audit design recruiting consecutive patients admitted to a single-centre multidisciplinary PICU from June 2020 to December 2023. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of survivors and non-survivors were described. Multivariable regression was performed to identify independent risk factors for mortality. Organ donation candidacy was evaluated by an independent team based on the criteria by Singapore's National Organ Transplant Unit.

Results: There were 1766 PICU admissions with mean age ± standard deviation of 5.9 ± 6.0 years. Surgical admissions accounted for 707/1766 (40%), while the most common medical admission category was respiratory (416/1766; 23.6%). The majority of 983/1766 (55.7%) had a chronic comorbidity and 312/1766 (17.6%) were dependent on at least 1 medical technology device. Mortality occurred in 99/1766 (5.6%). After adjusting for elective admissions and admission category; comorbidity with adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.03 (1.54-5.96); higher Pediatric Index of Mortality 3 (PIM 3) score with aOR 1.06 (95% CI 1.04-1.08); and functional status scale with aOR 1.07 (95% CI 1.00-1.13) were associated with mortality. Among non-survivors, organ donor candidacy was 21/99 (21.2%) but successful organ donation occurred in only 2/99 (2.0%).

Conclusion: In this single-centre audit, comorbidities, PIM 3 score and functional impairment were associated with mortality. Efforts are needed to improve paediatric organ donation rates.

Introduction: Totally implantable venous access devices (TIVADs) or ports are increasingly used in oncology settings to provide long-term, easy venous access. This study reports our experience and results with 1180 cases in Singapore.

Method: Data from January 2019 to January 2022, obtained from a hospital-approved secure database application called the Research Electronic Data Capture registry, were reviewed and analysed retrospectively.

Results: A total of 1180 patients underwent TIVAD implantation with a 100% technical success rate. The mean age of the cohort was 61.9 years. The mean dwell duration was 342 days (standard deviation [SD] 223; range 3-1911). By 1 February 2022, 83% of patients were still using the TIVAD, 13.6 % underwent removal after completion of treatment, 2.1% were removed due to infection, 0.6% due to malfunction, 0.6% due to port extrusion and 0.1% at patient's request. The right internal jugular vein (IJV) was the most commonly accessed site (83.6%), followed by the left IJV (15.6%). The early post-procedure complications were pain (24.7%), bruising (9.2%), swelling (3.6%), bleeding (0.5%), fever (0.4%), itchiness (0.2%) and allergic dermatitis (0.1%). The delayed post-procedure complications were TIVAD site cellulitis (3.80%); discharge (1.10%); skin erosion with device extrusion (0.60%); malpositioned catheter (0.33%), which was successfully repositioned, catheter-related bloodstream infections (0.25%); migration of TIVAD leading to catheter dislodgement (0.25%); venous thrombosis (0.25%); fibrin sheath formation requiring stripping (0.10%) and TIVAD chamber inversion (0.10%).

Conclusion: TIVAD implantation via the jugular vein under radiological guidance provides a safe, reliable and convenient means of long-term venous access in oncology patients. By sharing our experience and acceptable outcomes from a large oncology cohort, we aim to increase the awareness and adoption of TIVAD usage in oncology patients, especially in Asia.

Introduction: Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a curative option for relapse/refractory (R/R) lymphomas that have failed autologous transplantation or for high-risk lymphomas in the upfront setting. We conducted a retrospective analysis on consecutive lymphoma patients who underwent allo-HSCT over a 20-year period (2003- 2022) at Singapore General Hospital and National University Hospital Singapore.

Method: A total of 121 patients were included in the study. Median age was 41 years. Diagnoses include Hodgkin lymphoma (HL, 15%), B-cell non- Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL, 34%), T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (T-NHL, 31%) and natural killer T-cell lymphoma (NKTL, 20%). Moreover, 27% of patients had prior auto-haematopoietic stem cell transplanta-tion (auto-HSCT), and 84% received reduced intensity conditioning (RIC). Donor types were matched sibling donor (45%), matched unrelated donor (29%), haploidentical donor (19%) and cord blood (CB, 7%).

Results: After median follow-up of 56 months, estimated 4-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for all patients were 38% and 45%, respectively. Non-relapse mortality (NRM) was 15% at day 100 and 24% at 1 year. On univariate analysis, complete remission status at transplant and RIC confers superior OS. On multivariate analysis, HL was associated with superior OS compared to NHL, whereas matched unrelated donor transplant was associated with significantly inferior OS compared to matched sibling donor.

Conclusion: Long-term curative durability was observed with allo-HSCT for patients with relapsed/ refractory lymphomas. This real-world data serves as a valuable historical benchmark for future studies on lymphomas in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region.

Introduction: Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) has a heterogeneous disease course and a variable preva-lence across populations. Appropriate management for achieving optimal outcomes requires consideration of multiple factors, including disease-related factors like genomic alterations, patient characteristics and fitness, availability and access to treatments, and logistics/cost. This review aims to provide comprehen-sive and pragmatic recommendations for the management of treatment-naïve (TN) CLL that are relevant to Singapore's clinical context.

Method: Clinical consensus statements were developed by an expert panel of haematologists from Singapore through a 2-round modified Delphi process. Statements were drafted using recent evidence-based guidelines and published literature. Panel members reviewed draft statements, provided anonymised feedback and proposed modifications where relevant. A physical meeting was held to facilitate discussion, voting and endorsement of the final consensus statements.

Results: The final consensus included 15 statements covering major TN CLL patient subsets. The recommendations highlight the importance of molecular testing for key biomarkers, where available/accessible, to guide initial therapy. Due to the superior efficacy of targeted agents (Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors [BTKis] and B-cell lymphoma 2 inhibitors [BCL2is]) these are favoured over standard chemotherapy or chemotherapy-immunotherapy, especially for patients with del(17p) or TP53 mutation, and less fit patients.

Conclusion: These consensus statements provide practical recommendations for the current manage-ment of TN CLL patients in Singapore and similar healthcare systems based on up-to-date evidence. Regular updates to treatment guidelines are important to ensure responsiveness to emerging evidence and evolving clinical practices and to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.