Acceptability of teledentistry use among residents and staff in aged residential care facilities in the Otago region of New Zealand.

OBJECTIVES: To assess ARC residents' and staff perceptions of the benefits of, and comfort with, teledentistry use in ARC facilities in the Otago region of NZ, and identify end-user-level factors associated with its use. BACKGROUND: Difficulty in accessing oral healthcare services is a key barrier to aged residential care (ARC) residents' oral health and well-being. Teledentistry offers a possible solution, yet studies on its acceptability in ARCs are sparse, especially in New Zealand (NZ). This study assessed ARC residents' and staff perceptions of the benefits of, and comfort with, teledentistry use in ARC facilities in the Otago region of NZ and identified end-user-level factors associated with its use. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rest home-level residents and care staff in ARC facilities in the Otago region of NZ were surveyed to assess their awareness of teledentistry, perceptions of benefit and comfort using teledentistry, and end-user-level factors associated with the feasibility of using it in ARCs. RESULTS: One hundred residents and 77 care staff from 14 facilities participated. Three-quarters of resident participants thought that teledentistry was beneficial. Three in five resident participants were comfortable receiving remote dental consultations and care advice through teledentistry. Acceptability, as measured by perceived benefits and comfort, was lower among older participants. Staff participants were receptive to teledentistry use for residents and were comfortable facilitating remote dental consultations and care through teledentistry. No staff participants disagreed with the potential benefits of teledentistry for ARC residents. CONCLUSION: Teledentistry would likely be acceptable to residents and staff in ARC facilities in NZ, contributing to residents' improved access to oral health care and improved oral health and well-being.

Interim Singapore guidelines for basic and advanced life support for paediatric patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant challenges for the resuscitation of paediatric patients, especially for infants and children who are suspected or confirmed to be infected. Thus, the paediatric subcommittee of the Singapore Resuscitation and First Aid Council developed interim modifications to the current Singapore paediatric guidelines using extrapolated data from the available literature, local multidisciplinary expert consensus and institutional best practices. It is hoped that this it will provide a framework during the pandemic for improved outcomes in paediatric cardiac arrest patients in the local context, while taking into consideration the safety of all community first responders, medical frontline providers and healthcare workers.

A unique case of acute brain haemorrhage with left ventricular systolic failure requiring ECMO.

BACKGROUND: Acute left ventricular (LV) systolic failure as a consequence of acute severe brain injury with status epilepticus in a young infant is not common; managing such a patient on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which requires proper anticoagulation adds further substrate to a particularly intriguing and novel case worthy of reporting. Takotsubo syndrome and its peculiar clinical presentation is not commonly reported in the paediatric population, yet the high likelihood of this diagnosis joining the dots up for this case invites our curiosity and reflection through the clinical management of this case. CASE PRESENTATION: A previously healthy 9-month-old local Chinese boy presented with generalised seizures secondary to acute severe brain injury, with signs of sympathetic overdrive, followed by rapidly progressive cardiogenic shock and respiratory failure, eventually requiring ECMO support. Neuroimaging at presentation revealed bilateral subdural haemorrhages. His cardiac function recovered within the next 24 h revealing the reversibility nature of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. CONCLUSIONS: This is a captivating case depicting a series of unfortunate and unpredictable clinical events occurring in a previously well infant, which at initial presentation challenged the managing team with regards to its exact aetiology of acute brain injury and acute cardiorespiratory failure. Consideration of various differential diagnoses and finally narrowing down to that of stress-induced reversible cardiomyopathy (Takotsubo syndrome) following his intracranial bleed, versus that of coexisting dual pathology - acute brain injury with concomitant acute viral myocarditis, deepened our understanding of the pathophysiology of each disease process, and how it possibly interlinks between different organ systems.

Ten-year prescription trends of asthma medications in the management of childhood wheeze.

Asthma is the most common chronic disorder of childhood. The aim of this study was to assess prescription trends of asthma medications to provide a measure to evaluate treatment practices and compliance with established international practice guidelines. A retrospective study of data obtained from outpatient prescription databases (2001-2010) of the University Children's Medical Institute for children aged 0-18 years was performed. The following drugs were included: short-acting beta-agonists (SABAs), long-acting beta-agonists in combination with inhaled corticosteroids (LABA-ICSs), ICS, and leukotriene receptor antagonists. Statistical analysis of prescription trends was performed with linear regression to determine the trends in prescription of controller medications. From 2001 to 2010, the number of patients who were prescribed SABA increased significantly by 72% (p = 0.016). The increases in ICS patient numbers and ICS/SABA drug unit ratios were significant only in the school-going (>5 years) age group. There was a trend away from the use of nebulized SABA and ICS, although this was statistically insignificant. LABA-ICS patient numbers decreased significantly by 32.4% (p = 0.003), especially in preschoolers (1-5 years). There was a corresponding rise in montelukast patient numbers by 194.6% (p = 0.009) and montelukast/SABA ratio by 345.3% (p = 0.032) in preschoolers (aged 1-5 years). Montelukast patient numbers, but not the montelukast/SABA ratio, increased in school-going children. The move away from LABA-ICS combination especially in younger children and a tendency toward more montelukast usage is a reflection of practice preferences in accordance with current international guidelines in young children.

The Tao of bao: a randomised controlled trial examining the effect of steamed bun consumption on night-call inpatient course and mortality.

BACKGROUND: Medical superstitions remain prevalent in today's stressful and technology driven healthcare environment. These irrational beliefs commonly involve night calls, which are periods of volatile workload. In Singapore and Hong Kong, it is commonly held that consumption of steamed buns ("bao") by on-call physicians is associated with increased patient admissions and mortality, due to a homonymous interpretation of the word "bao" in dialect. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective unblinded randomised controlled trial with a permuted block randomisation design was performed on weekdays over 6 weeks. Steamed buns or control food were offered to the internal medicine night-call team of a tertiary-care hospital on a nightly basis. Information on admissions and mortality was collected from the hospital electronic database. Data on sleep patterns and shift duration were obtained by interview. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the median number of hours slept on days on "bao" administration versus "control" intervention (2 +/- median absolute variation of 1.5 h vs 2 +/- 1.5 h, P = 0.30) or in the number of hours spent in the hospital (30.8 +/- 1.9 h vs 30.5 +/- 2.2 h, P = 0.09). There were no significant differences in the median number of general ward admissions per night (n = 73 +/- 6 versus 71 +/- 7 admissions, P = 0.35), monitored care unit admissions (4 +/- 1.5 vs 4 +/- 1.5 admissions, P = 0.65) or inpatient mortality (2 +/- 1.5 vs 2 +/- 1.5 deaths per night, P = 0.47). CONCLUSION: The consumption of steamed buns ("bao") has no effect on inpatient admissions, mortality, or sleep duration on call. Regardless, our results indicate that the night call in Singapore remains a challenge in terms of workload and shift duration.