News & Updates

Burden of Dengue amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dengue fever (DF) is endemic in many tropical countries, including Singapore, and is spread by Aedes mosquitoes. All four serotypes of the dengue virus (DENV 1–4) are found in Singapore, with serotype distribution fluctuating from year to year. DENV-1 and DENV-2 were previously the dominant serotypes in outbreaks, but DENV-3 has now replaced DENV-2 as the most common serotype in 2022. Along with a larger proportion of people staying home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this has resulted in an increase in dengue incidence in Singapore. In the week of 12th to 18th June 2022, 1,258 new dengue cases were reported. According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), this number is expected to rise and exceed the highest weekly figure of 1,787 cases recorded in 2020.

Management of recurrent implantation failure during the COVID-19 pandemic

Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) refers to the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after three in vitro fertilization (IVF) attempts with at least four good-quality embryos. RIF leaves couples frustrated and desperate for answers and is challenging for clinicians to handle, compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Two experts, Dr Ameet Patki, Medical Director of Fertility Associates Mumbai and Hon Assoc Prof at KJ Somaiya Medical College & Hospital, India, and Dr Prakash Mayandi, Metro IVF Fertility Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, weigh in with their views on managing RIF during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early and consistent: Breakthrough results in HFpEF similar to HFrEF

HFpEF represents a significant unmet need in CV medicine due to its prevalence, poor prognosis, and the absence of clinically proven therapeutic options. The EMPEROR-Preserved trial demonstrated the continuous clinical benefits in cardiorenal outcomes of empagliflozin in adults with HFpEF, which were consistent with the observations in adults with HFmrEF/ HFpEF in the EMPEROR-reduced trial. The combined results of the EMPEROR trials establish empagliflozin’s efficacy in heart failure regardless of ejection fraction – and if approved, empagliflozin would become the first and only clinically proven therapy to improve outcomes for the full spectrum of the disease. Therefore, empagliflozin offers a new hope for people living with heart failure.

EMPEROR-Preserved: The first successful trial to improve outcomes in HFpEF

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) represents a significant unmet medical need. The EMPEROR-Preserved trial aimed to assess the impact of empagliflozin on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with HFpEF. On 27 August 2021, during the hotline session of the 2021 ESC Virtual Congress, the main results of the EMPEROR-Preserved trial were presented by Professor Stefan Anker, principal investigator of the study, and heart failure specialist at Charité Berlin, Germany.

NOACs in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation with multimorbidity: Where does apixaban stand?

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice, affecting millions of people globally. Stroke is one of its devastating complications, with the risk steeply increasing with advancing age. Additionally, AF is associated with more than a tripling of the risk of systemic embolic (SE) events. [J Am Heart Assoc 2020;9:e016724]

Preparedness attenuates COVID-19 risk among people with diabetes and obesity

Rapid antigen test: Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good

While rapid antigen test is less sensitive than conventional nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) such as RT-PCR* in detecting SARS-CoV-2 virus, “a test does not have to be perfect to be clinically useful,” said Professor Angela Caliendo during a session in IDWeek 2021 — echoing the maxim that perfect should not be the enemy of good in the pandemic era.