13th May 2019, Dr Chee L Khoo
Ramadan is the holy month for Muslims, falling in the ninth lunar month in the Islamic calendar year. Because the timing of Ramadan is linked to the sighting of the new moon, the timing of this month varies. Ramadan is a period of worship, self-discipline, austerity and charity. The most important significance of Ramadan is that Muslims are required to observe fasting during daylight hours.…
13th May 2019, Dr Chee L Khoo
The list of drugs that increase the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is increasing. We know statins (1,2), anti-psychotics (3) and many of the anti-retroviral (4) and immunosuppressant agents (5) have been shown to increase the risk of T2D. We also heard last year about the ACE inhibitors. Recent studies have implicated the 5α-reductase inhibitors, the drugs that we use to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) as well.…
11th October 2018, Dr Chee L Khoo
Over the last 20 years, 5 classes of anti-diabetic agents are now available to choose from. This is great but which do you use after metformin? Guidelines after guidelines in Australia and internationally leave that decision up to us to make the choice on behalf of our patients. They all have different mechanisms of action but pretty much all of them have similar efficacy, reducing HbA1c by about 1.0%.…
11th October, 2018, Dr Chee L Khoo
The original diagnostic criteria for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) put forward after the first international conference on PCOS in 1990 was oligo-anovulation and hyperandrogenism or hyperandrogenaemia in the absence of all other endocrinopathies. This was based on expert consensus rather than clinical research data. The Rotterdam criteria 2003 added ultrasound as a third diagnostic marker and to allow for a diagnosis of PCOS if two of the three criteria were met.…
30th September, 2018, Dr Chee L Khoo
One of the many challenges in general practice is keeping up with new management guidelines. Another week another guideline somewhere. Even if you are made aware of the existence of those guidelines and have access to them, the guidelines are usually 150-200 pages long. Even the executive summary runs into half a dozen pages.…
30th September 2018, Dr Chee L Khoo
10-40% of patients with psoriasis have joint manifestations as part of a multi-system inflammatory disease (1). There is a strong association between psoriasis and elements of metabolic syndrome. Recent evidence suggests that patients with psoriasis have increased cardio-metabolic morbidity and mortality. Like other auto-immune collagen diseases, psoriatic arthropathy (PsA) often necessitate a referral to the specialists to manage the systemic and joint disease.…
15th September, 2018, Dr Chee L Khoo
There is definitely a role for aspirin in preventing cardiovascular (CV) events in patients who already had a CV event (secondary prevention). There is always a risk of gastrointestinal and intracranial bleeding. Because the risk of another event after the first is often significantly higher, when one works out the risk benefit ratio, the benefits of aspirin use usually wins.…
1st August, 2018, Dr Chee L Khoo
After metformin and sulphonylurea, under the PBS we can choose between a DPP4 inhibitor, an SGLT2 inhibitor, a thiazolidinedione or a GLP1-RA injectable. Because of the potential adverse effects of cardiac failure with thiazolidinedione, realistically, it’s a three horse race. The cost effectiveness of each of the class of agents has not been explored thus far.…
July 15, 2018, Dr Chee L Khoo
Diabetes can be diagnosed if fasting glucose is >7.0 mmol/L, 2 hour post prandial > 11.0 mmol/L and/or HbA1c >6.5. However, clinical guidelines recommend that we repeat testing within a “short period of time” to reduce the possibility of a false positive result. Sometimes, repeat testing may not be possible or not uncommonly, patients may be lost to follow up.…
July 1st, 2018, Dr Chee L Khoo
With early diagnosis and improved treatment, many of our cancer patients have increased survival. You may already have noticed that many of our patients being managed in the multi-disciplinary oncology units are routinely promoting healthy lifestyles. Chronic co-morbidities including diabetes and cardiovascular diseases not only affect quality of life in these survivors but are the major cause of non-cancerous mortality in cancer patients.…
June 15, 2018, Dr Chee L Khoo 
Insulin secretion is augmented by incretins following oral glucose intake. In healthy individuals, incretins are responsible for 70% of insulin secretion. However, in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), the incretin effect is significantly blunted thereby affecting glucose control. Glucagon like peptide 1 (GLP1) and gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP)s are the most studied of the incretins.…
May 15, 2018, Dr Chee L Khoo
Unless you have experienced a severe hypoglycaemia, you don’t actually appreciate the petrifying effects it has on your patients. In addition to increased morbidity and mortality, it is associated with a reduction in health-related quality of life, increased fear and anxiety, reduced productivity and increased healthcare costs through increased utilisation of healthcare resources and blood glucose monitoring.…