News &amp; Updates

Patients who have nail unit melanoma (NUM) with a Breslow thickness (BT) of <0.8 mm may benefit from functional surgery, which offers an amputation-sparing advantage, suggests a recent study.

29 May 2023

School-based program expands HPV vaccine uptake in SG

A school-based immunization program in Singapore has resulted in high uptake and coverage of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, reports a study.

Can azithromycin shorten shock resolution in ICU patients?

Empiric azithromycin appears to have no substantial impact on shock duration, mechanical ventilation duration, intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS), hospital LOS, or in-hospital mortality in septic shock patients admitted to the ICU, according to a study.

New data fortify obeticholic acid role in NASH treatment

In the new analysis of the REGENERATE trial, the FXR* agonist obeticholic acid (OCA) was generally well tolerated and demonstrated a favourable safety profile in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

COVID-19 vaccine boosters effective against Omicron in people with substance use disorder

COVID-19 vaccine boosters provide protection against Omicron infection and related hospitalization among people with substance use disorder, researchers from the University of Hong Kong have reported.

29 May 2023

Cognitive protection greater with intensive vs standard SBP lowering for high-risk individuals

For individuals with increased projected risk of probable dementia or amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who are prescribed antihypertensive treatment, intensive systolic blood pressure (SBP) lowering confers greater cognitive benefits than standard treatment, according to a secondary analysis of the SPRINT trial.

Long COVID: Gut microbiome modulation alleviates neuropsychiatric and GI symptoms

Modulation of gut microbiome using the SIM01 synbiotic formula significantly improves neuropsychiatric and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms of long COVID, according to results of the randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled RECOVERY study conducted by researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

29 May 2023

Clevidipine trumps nicardipine for BP control in patients undergoing cardiac surgery

Treatment with clevidipine in patients undergoing cardiac surgery leads to better perioperative blood pressure (BP) control relative to nicardipine, with a slight rise in cost and no significant difference in safety outcomes, a study has found.

GLP1RA added to antidiabetic drugs prevents MACE, HF hospitalization

Adding glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1RA) onto metformin, sulfonylurea, or insulin treatment alone or in combination appears to reduce the incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and heart failure (HF) hospitalization relative to treatment with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i), suggests a study.