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Fulltext Examining the Acceptance of Blockchain by Real Estate Buyers and Sellers

Yeoh W, Lee ASH, Ng C, Popovic A, Han Y

Inf Syst Front, 2023 Jun 01.
PMID: 37361891 DOI: 10.1007/s10796-023-10411-8

Buying and selling real estate is time consuming and labor intensive, requires many intermediaries, and incurs high fees. Blockchain technology provides the real estate industry with a reliable means of tracking transactions and increases trust between the parties involved. Despite the benefits of blockchain, its adoption in the real estate industry is still in its infancy. Therefore, we investigate the factors that influence the acceptance of blockchain technology by buyers and sellers of real estate. A research model was designed based on the combined strengths of the unified theory of technology acceptance and use model and the technology readiness index model. Data were collected from 301 real estate buyers and sellers and analyzed using the partial least squares method. The study found that real estate stakeholders should focus on psychological factors rather than technological factors when adopting blockchain. This study adds to the existing body of knowledge and provides valuable insights to real estate stakeholders on how to implement blockchain technology.
A case of severe Plasmodium knowlesi malaria in a post-splenectomy patient

Cheo SW, Khoo TT, Tan YA, Yeoh WC, Low QJ

Med J Malaysia, 2020 07;75(4):447-449.
PMID: 32724015

Malaria is a parasitic disease that is caused by the Plasmodium parasite. Worldwide, it remains a significant public health problem especially in the Africa region where it contributes to more than 90% of cases and malaria death. However, zoonotic (simian) Plasmodium knowlesi parasite is a widely prevalent cause of malaria in the South East Asian countries. It is known to cause severe human disease due to its 24hour erythrocytic cycles. Thus far, cases of severe falciparum malaria have been reported in asplenic patients. Here, we report a case of severe P.knowlesi malaria in a 51-year-old man who is a postsplenectomy patient.
Convalescent plasma as an adjunctive therapy for COVID-19: A single centre experience in Malaysia

Lee KT, Yeoh WC, Zainul NH, Syed Alwi SB, Low LL

Med J Malaysia, 2021 09;76(5):653-657.
PMID: 34508370

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic posed a significant and urgent threat to global health and economy. Currently, there is no effective treatment known to alter the course of COVID-19. Convalescent plasma (CP) has been used previously to treat several types of infections during pandemics. The aim of our study is to evaluate the efficacy of CP in the treatment of severe COVID-19 infections at Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Kedah, Malaysia.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study of all severe COVID-19 patients who received CP treatment from 1st August 2020 until 31st December 2020 was conducted. Clinical outcomes were compared before and after CP transfusion.
RESULTS: Thirty-four patients were enrolled and received CP transfusion during the study period. The most common presenting complaints were fever (64.7%) and cough (58.8%). Fourteen patients showed improvement in oxygen support after CP transfusion. Several laboratory parameters also improved such as increased lymphocyte count (1.48 vs 1.98, p=0.008) and decreased C-reactive protein levels (28.1 vs 10.6, p=0.004), and these were statistically significant. Median time from symptoms onset to CP transfusion was 6 days (range 1-11) while median time from PCR diagnosis to CP transfusion was 5 days (range 1-11). One patient developed urticaria after CP transfusion and no severe adverse events were observed. Two of our patients passed away due to secondary causes.
CONCLUSION: This study showed CP treatment was well tolerated and could potentially prevent progression of COVID-19 to a severe disease if administered early during the viraemic phase. Further evaluation with randomized control trial should be conducted to help ascertain the optimal dose and effectiveness of CP treatment, in correlation with the IgG titer of the donated CP.
Fulltext Comparing CxBladder to Urine Cytology as Adjunct to Cystoscopy in Surveillance of Non-muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer-A Pilot Study

Chai CA, Yeoh WS, Rajandram R, Aung KP, Ong TA, Kuppusamy S, et al.

Front Surg, 2021;8:659292.
PMID: 34055868 DOI: 10.3389/fsurg.2021.659292

Purpose: Guidelines advocate cystoscopy surveillance (CS) for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) post-resection. However, cystoscopy is operator dependent and may miss upper tract lesions or carcinoma in-situ (CIS). Urine cytology is a common adjunct but lacks sensitivity and specificity in detecting recurrence. A new mRNA biomarker (CxBladder) was compared with urine cytology as an adjunct to cystoscopy in detecting a positive cystoscopy findings during surveillance cystoscopy in our center. Materials and Methods: Consented patients older than 18, undergoing CS for NMIBC, provide paired urine samples for cytology and CxBladder test. Patients with positive cystoscopy findings would undergo re-Trans Urethral Resection of Bladder Tumor (TURBT). Results: Thirty-five patients were enrolled from April to June 2019. Seven contaminated urine samples were excluded. The remaining cohort of 23 (82%) and 5 (18%) females had a mean age of 66.69 (36-89). Eight (29%) patients with positive cystoscopy finding underwent TURBT. All 8 patients also had positive CxBladder result. This shows that CxBladder has a sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) of 100%, specificity of 75% and positive predictive value (PPV) of 62% in predicting a positive cystoscopy finding. TURBT Histo-pathological findings showed Low-grade Ta NMIBC in one patient (4%), and 7 (25%) patients had inflammatory changes. Urine cytology was only positive in one patient with a positive cystoscopy finding. This led to a sensitivity of merely 13% and NPV of 74%, while specificity and PPV was 100% in predicting a positive cystoscopy finding. Conclusion: CxBladder had high NPV and sensitivity which accurately predicted suspicious cystoscopy findings leading to further investigation. It has great potential for use as adjunct to cystoscopy for surveillance of NMIBC.
Fulltext A novel mortality risk score for emphysematous pyelonephritis: A multicenter study of the Global Research in the Emphysematous Pyelonephritis group

Trujillo-Santamaría H, Robles-Torres JI, Teoh JY, Tanidir Y, Campos-Salcedo JG, Bravo-Castro EI, et al.

Curr Urol, 2024 Mar;18(1):55-60.
PMID: 38505163 DOI: 10.1097/CU9.0000000000000163

BACKGROUND: Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is a necrotizing infection of the kidney and the surrounding tissues associated with considerable mortality. We aimed to formulate a score that classifies the risk of mortality in patients with EPN at hospital admission.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients diagnosed with EPN between 2013 and 2020 were retrospectively included. Data from 15 centers (70%) were used to develop the scoring system, and data from 7 centers (30%) were used to validate it. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent factors related to mortality. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to construct the scoring system and calculate the risk of mortality. A standardized regression coefficient was used to quantify the discriminating power of each factor to convert the individual coefficients into points. The area under the curve was used to quantify the scoring system performance. An 8-point scoring system for the mortality risk was created (range, 0-7).
RESULTS: In total, 570 patients were included (400 in the test group and 170 in the validation group). Independent predictors of mortality in the multivariable logistic regression were included in the scoring system: quick Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment score ≥2 (2 points), anemia, paranephric gas extension, leukocyte count >22,000/μL, thrombocytopenia, and hyperglycemia (1 point each). The mortality rate was <5% for scores ≤3, 83.3% for scores 6, and 100% for scores 7. The area under the curve was 0.90 (95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.95) for test and 0.91 (95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.97) for the validation group.
CONCLUSIONS: Our score predicts the risk of mortality in patients with EPN at presentation and may help clinicians identify patients at a higher risk of death.