The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically, with about half of the world’s population now at risk. In fact, dengue incidence in the last 50 years has increased 30-fold, expanding to new countries, from urban to rural settings. The Philippines is among the top countries where dengue is endemic, and for several months now, […]
Over the past few decades, specialization in emergency medicine has grown and developed in response to a burgeoning need in the Philippines. An emergency physician diagnoses and treats patients with critical illnesses or injuries, particularly trauma victims with multiple organ dysfunction who require immediate care. Time is of the essence in an emergency. The […]
In the latter part of 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) authorized and recommended two updated COVID-19 boosters. These boosters target two Omicron sub-variants, BA.4 and BA.5. These are bivalent vaccines, meaning they contain two messenger RNA (mRNA) components of the coronavirus. Half […]
The University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) has recently observed an increase in women consulting for pelvic pain, later diagnosed as endometriosis. Unfortunately, limited awareness seems to lead to delayed treatment and undue suffering. Endometriosis is a disease where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside it, causing pain and even […]
The COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet. As long as people are getting infected, there is a chance that the virus will keep mutating. However, we have come a long way from how things started in 2020. Vaccination, testing, and various treatments have helped us get back to a semblance of normalcy and, most importantly, […]
As the holiday season approaches, it is expected that the number of COVID-19 cases in the country will once again spike. Omicron continues to be the dominant variant, and unfortunately, new subvariants have cropped up anew: XBB, which is a recombinant of BJ.1 (of the BA2.10.1 sublineage) and BM.1.1.1 (of the BA.2.75 sublineage); and BQ.1.1, […]
The COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone to consider other ways of gaining knowledge and acquiring skills, especially in medicine. While many things came to a halt in the ‘new normal,’ health faculties continuously tried to find innovative ways to prepare the next generation of doctors, nurses, and other medical practitioners. These past two years have […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports road traffic injuries as the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29. Approximately 1.3 million people die each year because of road traffic crashes. Over half of all these road traffic deaths are among vulnerable road users: pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Nearly 30% of all […]
Experts have noticed an increasing number of individuals with asymptomatic liver disease and abnormal liver profile tests. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can remain benign but also progress to severe conditions like cirrhosis and liver failure. Some of the risk factors and co-morbidities of COVID-19 include the linkage of NAFLD with obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia-metabolic […]
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are about 4,700 new childhood cancer cases in the Philippines annually. Forty percent of these cases are leukemia—a treatable condition, especially during early diagnosis and with consistent chemotherapy. Unfortunately, 1,700 children still die from leukemia each year in our country. Compounding this are unseen impacts of COVID-19 […]
