Attending the 10th edition of the biennial Singapore AIDS Conference at the NUHS Tower Block. A remarkable achievement – both the conference itself, as well as the progress made in Singapore over 31 years (our first local case of HIV was diagnosed in May 1985). Such progress is testament to the passion and efforts of […]
A study published in JAMA this week showed that antibiotics were the most common cause of adverse drug events in younger (age <65 years) patients presenting to the emergency departments of 58 sentinel hospitals in the US, and the second most common cause in those above 65 years of age. As a whole, an adverse […]
I spent a pleasant afternoon yesterday listening to various presentations on completed and semi-completed projects at the SIDI Research Symposium at Waterfront Copthorne (Declaration: I am the current director of the Singapore Infectious Diseases Initiative, or SIDI for short). The projects were very diverse in nature, ranging from basic science to clinical research as well […]
I used to think that trying to establish antibiotic stewardship in Singapore in an outpatient setting, just like in private hospitals, was a relatively futile exercise. Multiple factors (or so I thought) contribute to the failure of any serious effort that goes beyond public or physician education, including: Patients who insist on antibiotics (and who can easily obtain […]
Two further observances were held at TTSH and SGH on Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th November. There was also a booth set up at NUH on Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week. All events were organised by the respective hospital antimicrobial stewardship programme (ASP) members. Unfortunately I do not have access to more professionally taken […]
Here are some photos of the WAAW event at Jurong Library, organised by staff from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. There is also an attempt at making a Flipagram out of several photos here. All photos were taken by Pearl Gan.
A cross posting from Dr Clarence Tam’s blog, which also offers up many better and more interesting blog pieces for the observation of World Antibiotic Awareness Week, including: The economics of antibiotic resistance by Prof Richard Smith from LSHTM. Penicillin at the petrol shop by Dr Mishal Khan from LSHTM/SSHSPH. Teaching kids about antibiotic resistance […]
One of the most vexing antibiotic-related questions is: “Should you finish the course of antibiotics that the doctor has prescribed you?” My colleague and I were asked just that when we were interviewed by 938Live Body & Soul’s Daniel Martin recently. The conventional answer has generally been: “Yes, you should finish every single dose, even if […]
Better to focus on local events this week. World Antibiotic Awareness Week is around the corner, and below is a flyer for the event organised by Dr Clarence Tam (his blog is here) and his team at Jurong Regional Library this coming weekend. There will be several booths set up during those two days. There will […]
An ongoing Facebook discussion on medical tourism set me thinking about its implications. There are many who argue that more should be done to encourage the growth of Singapore’s medical tourism industry, which reached its peak In 2012. Reasons include regional stature, development of more specialized medical skills (due to a larger pool of patients […]
MIPHIDIC 