Social media appeals lead to more liver transplants from strangers

​A study conducted by a team of clinicians from NUCOT found that there were no cases of liver donor deaths among 204 procedures performed by NUCOT and there were less than 10 per cent of donors experiencing complications which were largely minor. A/Prof Shridhar Iyer, Surgical Director & Senior Consultant, Adult Liver Transplantation Programme, NUCOT also noted that online appeals have resulted in more people coming forward to donate their livers to strangers in recent years. A/Prof Shridhar hopes that the study will assure the public it is safe to be a living liver donor in Singapore. 

Kidney transplants in S’pore fall over past 2 years amid pandemic

​The Sunday Times interviewed Dr Hersharan Kaur Sran, Senior Consultant, Adult Kidney & Pancreas Transplantation Programme, NUCOT, who commented that NUH’s transplant team received fewer referrals from kidney doctors, who were swamped during COVID-19, and transplants involving deceased donors dropped significantly due to concerns about infection transmission, among other things. Dr Sran who is also the Medical Director for NUCOT’s Adult Kidney Transplantation Programme explained that organs from higher-risk donors – such as people who were older or less healthy – were turned down. This was because such transplants require more medical resources and increase the risk of recipients having to stay longer in hospitals or needing intensive care. 

时常担心自己生病？一起来了解什么是健康焦虑 (Always worried about getting sick? Let's learn what health anxiety is)

​Ms Terri Chen Hui Min, Head of Psychology and Principal Clinical Psychologist at the Department of Psychological Medicine, NUH, noted that there may be a surge in people seeking help for a certain illness after public awareness about the condition has been raised. She explained that health anxiety can affect a person's life, family, work and interests. The constant worries about their physical health can affect their mental health as it may lead to poor sleep and depressed mood as these worries consume their lives. She added that it is important to encourage patients to seek an evaluation from a mental health professional to get help for their health anxiety.

Invention with intention: Help for healthcare workers

​National University of Singapore is rolling out inventions that improve the level of medical care for patients and the safety of medical professionals. One of them is the Virtual Reality in Agitation Management (VRAM) curriculum developed by NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine for medical and nursing students. The compulsory programme was rolled out in June 2022 for fourth-year medicine and second-year nursing students as part of a module on managing aggression. The VRAM programme would allow them to address the patient's needs and verbally de-escalate the situation empathically and sensitively. Straits Times also mentioned that there is a staff protection programme at National University Hospital that helps equip medical staff with the know-how to respond and de-escalate staff abuse situations.

• The Straits Times Online, 24 June 2022, Clever inventions from Singapore: Four projects to watch
  

专家：我国有能力应对新一波疫情 没必要收紧防疫措施 (Expert: Singapore has the ability to deal with a new wave of epidemics hence there is no need to tighten epidemic prevention measures)

​A/Prof Alex Cook, Vice Dean of NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said that those infected with mutated strands BA.4 and BA.5 had symptoms similar to common flu and hospitals could handle these patients. He believed the rise in cases was due to low immunity after long gaps in vaccination rather than tourist influx. Prof Dale Fisher, Senior Consultant, Division of Infectious Diseases, National University Hospital, suggested avoiding crowded events and maintaining safe distancing.

Study finds drug combo better controls advanced breast cancer

Researchers from National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (NCIS) and Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at National University of Singapore found that combining two drugs, letrozole and lenvatinib, might help those with advanced-stage breast cancer better control the disease. Letrozole is an anti-hormonal drug, while lenvatinib was already approved by the United States for use in treating various other cancers. Half of those given the combined therapy saw their tumours shrink or experienced good control of the disease for more than six months. The study’s lead investigator, Prof Lee Soo Chin, Head and Senior Consultant, Department of Haematology-Oncology, NCIS, and Senior Principal Investigator at CSI Singapore, said that an ongoing trial was comparing the combination against standard treatment. 

Media reports also interviewed Mdm Lim Hay Eng, who was administered the treatment between January 2020 and February 2022 when she experienced a relapse of her breast cancer. The treatment resulted in a tumour in her liver shrinking by about 30 per cent within a few months, and helped control its growth while she was on the trial. 

CNA938 Singapore Tonight interviewed Dr Joline Lim, Consultant, Department of Haematology-Oncology, NCIS, and co-investigator of the study. Dr Lim explained that as both letrozole and lenvatinib could be taken orally, the therapy does not require patients to be hospitalised and reduces their outpatient appointments at the hospitals. Patients also generally experience less side effects compared to chemotherapy, such as having hair loss or low blood count issues.  

• The Straits Times Online, 24 June 2022, Drug combination could be less invasive for breast cancer, study finds 
  

• CNA Singapore Tonight, 10pm, 25 June 2022, Drug combination could be less invasive treatment for breast cancer, study finds
  

• Channel 8 Hello Singapore, 6.30pm and News Tonight, 10pm, 24 June 2022, 研究：结合口服激素疗法和抗癌药物能协助末期乳癌病控制病情 (Study: Combining oral hormone therapy and cancer drugs can help control late stage breast cancer)
  

• Mediacorp 8world News and Capital 95.8FM News, 25 June 2022, 研究：结合口服激素疗法和抗癌药物能协助末期乳癌病控制病情 (Study: Combining oral hormone therapy and cancer drugs can help control late stage breast cancer)
  

• BERITA Mediacorp Online, 24 June 2022, Hasil ujian kaedah baru dapat tangani barah payudara dengan lebih baik (Study finds novel drug combo can better control advanced breast cancer)

• Lianhe Zaobao, Page 8, 25 June 2022, 两机构联合研究：副作用较少 混合口服疗法可更有效控制晚期乳癌 (Joint study between two institutions: Less side effects, combined oral therapy can be more effective in controlling advanced breast cancer)
  

• Shin Min Daily News, Page 6, 24 June 2022, 乳癌化疗严重副作用  使用新口服药物 妇女生活获改善 (Severe side effects due to chemotherapy; New oral therapy could improve the quality of life of women with breast cancer)

• Berita Harian, Page 4, 25 June 2022, Kombinasi dua ubat dapat bantu pesakit barah buah dada kawal penyakit (Combined drug therapy can help patients with breast cancer better control the disease)
  

• Tamil Murasu Online, 25 June 2022, மார்பகப் புற்றுநோய்க்கு பலன்தரும் சிகிச்சை: ஆய்வு (Effective treatment for breast cancer: study)

• Newsbeezer, 24 June 2022, The drug combination could be a less invasive treatment for breast cancer, the study finds
  

More slots for specialised support programme in pre-schools

​The Early Childhood Development Agency launched a guide for parents and caregivers of young children up to six years old with developmental needs. The guide was jointly developed with MOE, NUH, KKH and other partners. It outlined some of the challenges parents may face, and help channels they could turn to, and gave information on milestones like enrolling for primary or special education schools. 

• The Straits Times Online, More pre-school slots for children with developmental needs in the next three years
  
• TNP Online, More pre-school slots for children with developmental needs in the next three years
  
• Lianhe Zaobao, Page 11, 幼培署新手册内容齐备 帮家长更好照顾特需子女 (ECDA launches new guide to help parents better care for children with special needs)
  
• Berita Harian, Page 1,7, Anak-anak dengan keperluan pembangunan; ECDA lancer panduan untuk ibu bapa (ECDA launches guide for parents of children with developmental needs)
  

Singapore unlikely to tighten COVID-19 rules amid rise in cases: Experts

​Public health experts said that it was unlikely that Singapore will tighten COVID-19 rules across the board in response to the recent spike in cases. Prof Dale Fisher, Senior Consultant, Division of Infectious Diseases, National University Hospital, said that tightening measures would be necessary only if a new variant or if a completely new virus surfaced. Prof Teo Yik Ying, Dean of NUS Saw Swee Hock School Public Health, noted that the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub variants have been spreading across multiple countries over the past two months, with both North America and Europe seeing a surge in local transmissions.

A/Prof Alex Cook, Vice Dean of Research, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, mentioned that the increased travel during the June holiday period was not the reason behind the recent increase in COVID-19 cases. He explained that while travel may have brought these sub variants into Singapore, their spread is a result of inherently greater transmissibility and lower effective immunity against them compared with during the first Omicron wave. 

• Lianhe Zaobao, 24 June 2022, Page 4, 本地新增6606 起病例 每周传播率攀升至1.38 (Singapore reports 6,606 new cases; weekly infection growth rate up to 1.38)
  
• Mediacorp 8world, 23 June 2022, 新一波冠病疫情在即 本地专家：料不会比德尔塔严重 (New wave of COVID-19 imminent; Experts: Expected to be milder than Delta)
  

Explainer: What’s the global monkeypox situation ahead of WHO decision on whether to declare public health emergency

​Prof Dale Fisher, Senior Consultant, Division of Infectious Diseases, NUH, said that a surge in monkeypox cases was unlikely in Singapore because the country has good diagnostics access, contact tracing and quarantine systems. 

Storage bank for human poop to treat diseases launched

​The first gut microbiome banking service in Southeast Asia, launched by health startup Amili and healthtech firm Cordlife, allows people to preserve the healthy microbes in their digestive tract, so that they may be used in the future to treat diseases such as severe diarrhoea and inflammatory bowel disease. Faecal transplants have been approved in Singapore for treating patients infected with the Clostridium difficile (C.diff) bacteria in the large intestine or colon. In 2014, Amili’s co-founder, A/Prof David Ong, performed the first poop transplant at NUH to treat a patient infected with the C.diff bacterium. Amili is currently conducting clinical trials in NUH for microbiome transplants on patients with inflammatory bowel disease, a condition where one's colon and rectum become inflamed. 

• The Straits Times Online, Gut microbiome bank launched to store human poop for treating diseases
  

都是伊蚊惹的祸 (It's all the fault of the Aedes mosquito)

​Zaobao commentary by Ms Ng Xiang Jing who shared her experience of being infected with dengue. The writer had consulted a few doctors, before a polyclinic blood test showed abnormalities and she was referred to NUH Emergency Department, where a doctor correctly diagnosed her as having dengue. 

Everything you need to know about IVF in Singapore

​The article outlined some important things that a couple should consider before in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). The costs of IVF treatment would vary depending on where one seeks treatment. Public hospitals, including NUH, KKH and SGH would charge between $10,000 and $15,000 per cycle. 

儿童四种沟通障碍 (Four communication disorders in children)

本地60岁以上年长者 8万人未打疫苗追加剂 王乙康：很快会派流动接种团队到社区 (80,000 seniors aged 60 and above have not received COVID-19 booster shot; Ong Ye Kung: Mobile vaccination teams will be sent to the community)

​Prof Dale Fisher, Senior Consultant, Division of Infectious Diseases, NUH, predicted that a new wave of pandemic might not occur, and should it occur, the vast majority of cases would be mild, as COVID-19 vaccines still offer good protection. Prof Fisher said that the vast majority of daily reported cases were diagnosed by antigen rapid test and it is likely that most people who self-diagnosed are not reported to MOH. He believed that the local population has reached a high degree of COVID-19 infection and this will offer natural immunity against a major wave affecting the population. 

Health Matters – Recollections: An autobiography of Professor Lim Pin

​One of Singapore’s medical pioneers, Prof Lim Pin, Department of Medicine, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Emeritus Consultant, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, who is the author of the book “Recollections: Meeting Challenges and Seizing Opportunities”, talked about some of the biggest changes he has seen in the medical field over the years.