Impact of vaccination on COVID-19 severity during the second wave in Brunei Darussalam, 2021

@#Objective: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccinations have been shown to prevent infection with efficacies ranging from 50% to 95%. This study assesses the impact of vaccination on the clinical severity of COVID-19 during the second wave in Brunei Darussalam in 2021, which was due to the Delta variant. Methods: Patients included in this study were randomly selected from those who were admitted with COVID-19 to the National Isolation Centre between 7 August and 6 October 2021. Cases were categorized as asymptomatic, mild (symptomatic without pneumonia), moderate (pneumonia), severe (needing supplemental oxygen therapy) or critical (needing mechanical ventilation) but for statistical analysis purposes were dichotomized into asymptomatic/mild or moderate/severe/critical cases. Univariate and multivariable analyses were conducted to identify risk factors associated with moderate/severe/critical disease. Propensity score-matched analysis was also performed to evaluate the impact of vaccination on disease severity. Results: The study cohort of 788 cases (mean age: 42.1 + 14.6 years; 400 males) comprised 471 (59.8%) asymptomatic/mild and 317 (40.2%) moderate/severe/critical cases. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed older age group (>45 years), diabetes mellitus, overweight/obesity and vaccination status to be associated with increased severity of disease. In propensity score-matched analysis, the relative risk of developing moderate/severe/critical COVID-19 for fully vaccinated (two doses) and partially vaccinated (one dose) cases was 0.33 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.16–0.69) and 0.62 (95% CI: 0.46–0.82), respectively, compared with a control group of non-vaccinated cases. The corresponding relative risk reduction (RRR) values were 66.5% and 38.4%, respectively. Vaccination was also protective against moderate/severe/critical disease in a subgroup of overweight/obese patients (RRR: 37.2%, P = 0.007). Discussion: Among those who contracted COVID-19, older age, having diabetes, being overweight/obese and being unvaccinated were significant risk factors for moderate/severe/critical disease. Vaccination, even partial, was protective against moderate/severe/critical disease.

Post-COVID-19 health-care utilization: one year after the 2020 first wave in Brunei Darussalam

@#Objective: Patients who recover from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection are at risk of long-term health disorders and may require prolonged health care. This retrospective observational study assesses the number of health-care visits before and after COVID-19 infection in Brunei Darussalam. Methods: COVID-19 cases from the first wave with 12 months of follow-up were included. Health-care utilization was defined as health-care visits for consultations or investigations. Post-COVID condition was defined using the World Health Organization definition. Results: There were 132 cases; 59.1% were male and the mean age was 37.1 years. The mean number of health-care visits 12 months after recovery from COVID-19 (123 cases, 93.2%; mean 5.0 ± 5.2) was significantly higher than the prior 12 months (87 cases, 65.9%, P<0.001; mean 3.2 ± 5.7, P<0.001). There was no significant difference when scheduled COVID-19 visits were excluded (3.6 ± 4.9, P = 0.149). All 22 cases with moderate to critical disease recovered without additional health-care visits apart from planned post-COVID-19 visits. Six patients had symptoms of post-COVID condition, but none met the criteria for diagnosis or had alternative diagnoses. Discussion: There were significantly more health-care visits following recovery from COVID-19. However, this was due to scheduled post-COVID-19 visits as per the national management protocol. This protocol was amended prior to the second wave to omit post-COVID-19 follow-up, except for complicated cases or cases with no documented radiological resolution of COVID-19 pneumonia. This will reduce unnecessary health-care visits and conserve precious resources that were stretched to the limit during the pandemic.

COVID-19 and Mycobacterium coinfection in Brunei Darussalam: case series

@#Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and tuberculosis (TB) coinfection is expected to become more common in countries where TB is endemic, and coinfection has been reported to be associated with less favourable outcomes. Knowing about the manifestations and outcomes of coinfection is important as COVID-19 becomes endemic. During the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brunei Darussalam, we encountered seven patients with COVID-19 and Mycobacterium coinfection. Cases of coinfection included three patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary Mycobacterium infection (two cases of pulmonary TB [PTB] and one case of Mycobacterium fortuitum infection) and four patients who were already being treated for TB (three cases of PTB and one case of TB lymphadenitis). Among the new cases, one had previously tested negative for PTB during a pre-employment medical fitness evaluation and had defaulted from follow up and evaluation. One case died: a 42-year-old man with diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease and hypertension who had severe COVID-19 and needed urgent dialysis and supplemental oxygen. All other patients recovered from COVID-19 and completed their TB treatment.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Diabetic Retinopathy among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients in Brunei Darussalam: A Cross-sectional Study

Purpose@#To determine the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and the factors associated with retinopathy among type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients in Brunei Darussalam. @*Methods@#Cross-sectional study of all type 2 DM patients who attended diabetic eye screening over a 3-month period at one of four government hospitals. We assessed association between DR with the following variables: age, sex, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), duration of DM, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and microalbuminuria. @*Results@#There were 341 patients (female, 58.9%; mean age, 55.3 ± 11.9 years) with a mean duration of DM of 9.4 ± 7.4 years and mean serum HbA1c of 8.4% ± 1.9%. The overall prevalence of any DR was 22.6% (95% confidence interval, 18.8–27.1) with prevalence rates of 4.1% (95% confidence interval, 2.1–6.4) for proliferative DR and 9.7% (95% confidence interval, 6.8–13.2) for vision-threatening DR. Multivariate analysis showed that DR was significantly associated with certain age groups (reduced in older age groups), longer duration of DM (11 years or more), poor control (HbA1c >9.0%) and presence of any microalbuminuria. @*Conclusions@#DR affects one in five patients with DM in Brunei Darussalam, comparable to rates reported for other Asian populations. It is especially worrying that one in ten patients with DM had vision-threatening DR. DR was significantly associated with longer duration of DM, poor control and presence of microalbuminuria but reduced in older age groups. It is important to advocate good control right from the time of diagnosis of DM and institute timely and effective management of retinopathy. DR was significantly associated with longer duration of DM, poor control of diabetes, and presence of microalbuminuria but reduced in older age groups.

COVID-19 patients with negative results on initial screening: Experience of Brunei Darussalam

@#In any infectious disease outbreak, early diagnosis, isolation of cases and quarantine of contacts are central to disease containment. In Brunei Darussalam, suspected cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were quarantined either at home or at designated centres and were tested immediately for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. We report on 10 cases of COVID-19 that initially tested negative for COVID-19 and were positive on re-testing after becoming symptomatic. These cases comprised 3.8% of the 266 total confirmed COVID-19 cases in Brunei Darussalam as of 9 July 2021, when this study was conducted. All the cases were in quarantine at home and were tested early during their quarantine period. Since then, home quarantine has been replaced by quarantine at designated centres only, with testing on the 12th day of quarantine.

A rare presentation of Mycobacterium africanum after two decades: a case report from Brunei Darussalam

@#Mycobacterium africanum is endemic to West Africa and is rare outside this region. Most of the people infected with M. africanum outside Africa are migrants from affected parts of Africa. We report a rare case of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) secondary to M. africanum in a man in Brunei Darussalam who had lived and worked in Guinea, West Africa for 6 years more than 20 years ago. He had been well until December 2020, when he presented with a chronic cough and was diagnosed with coinfections of Klebsiella pneumoniae and M. africanum, and newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus. This case highlights an interesting manifestation of pulmonary TB secondary to M. africanum in a patient whose last exposure was 20 years ago, contributed to by development of diabetes mellitus.

Clinical and demographic characteristics of COVID-19 cases in Brunei Darussalam: comparison between the first and second waves, 2020 and 2021

Abstract@#Differences in clinical manifestations between strains of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been reported. This retrospective descriptive study compares the clinical and demographic characteristics of all confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases admitted to the National Isolation Centre (NIC) in the first wave and at the beginning of the second wave of the pandemic in Brunei Darussalam.@*Methods@#All COVID-19 cases admitted to the NIC between 9 March and 6 May 2020 (first wave) and 7–17 August 2021 (second wave) were included. Data were obtained from NIC databases and case characteristics compared using Student’s t-tests and chi-squared tests, as appropriate.@*Results@#Cases from the first wave were significantly older than those from the second wave (mean 37.2 vs 29.7 years, P<0.001), and a higher proportion reported comorbidities (30.5% vs 20.3%, P=0.019). Cases from the second wave were more likely to be symptomatic at admission (77.7% vs 63.1%, P<0.001), with a higher proportion reporting cough, anosmia, sore throat and ageusia/dysgeusia; however, myalgia and nausea/vomiting were more common among symptomatic first wave cases (all P<0.05). There was no difference in the mean number of reported symptoms (2.6 vs 2.4, P=0.890).@*Discussion@#Our study showed clear differences in the profile of COVID-19 cases in Brunei Darussalam between the first and second waves, reflecting a shift in the predominating SARS-CoV-2 strain. Awareness of changes in COVID-19 disease manifestation can help guide adjustments to management policies such as duration of isolation, testing strategies, and criteria for admission and treatment.

Challenges during the second wave of COVID-19 in Brunei Darussalam: National Isolation Centre to National COVID-19 Hospital

Problem@#Soon after the start of the second wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Brunei Darussalam, which was confirmed to be due to the more infectious Delta strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it became apparent that the National Isolation Centre (NIC) was not coping.@*Context@#The NIC was the only isolation and treatment centre for COVID-19 in Brunei Darussalam. During the first wave and the first 11 days of the second wave, all confirmed cases were admitted to the NIC for isolation and treatment in line with the management strategy to isolate all confirmed cases to control the outbreak.@*Action@#The Ministry of Health opened five community isolation centres and two quarantine centres to divert asymptomatic and mild cases from the NIC. The community isolation centres also functioned as triage centres for the NIC, and the quarantine centres accommodated recovered patients who did not have their own quarantine facilities.@*Outcome@#The community isolation and quarantine centres diverted cases from the NIC and enabled recovered cases to be transferred to these step-down facilities. This reduced the NIC’s occupancy to a safe level and enabled the reorganization of the NIC to function as a treatment centre and a national COVID-19 hospital.@*Discussion@#During any disease outbreak, health facilities must be prepared to adapt to changing situations. Strong leadership, stakeholder commitments, teamwork and constant communication are important in this process.

Pulmonary tuberculosis and melioidosis coinfection in Brunei Darussalam: the importance of awareness and screening

@#Both tuberculosis (TB) and melioidosis are endemic to certain parts of the world, including Brunei Darussalam, with TB being more widespread. Despite this, coinfection with TB and melioidosis is rarely encountered and reported. Although still uncommon, there has been an increase in the number of cases of this coinfection reported during the past 10 years, all of which have been in India and the World Health Organization’s Western Pacific Region. We report a case of coinfection with pulmonary TB and melioidosis in a patient with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus. This 64-year-old man presented with symptoms and radiological features of pulmonary TB, confirmed by sputum smear, but sputum culture also yielded Burkholderia pseudomallei, the pathogen that causes melioidosis. Coinfection was detected due to our practice of routinely screening for other infections in patients suspected or confirmed to have pulmonary TB. This highlights the importance of awareness of melioidosis and the need to consider screening for infection, especially in endemic regions.

COVID-19 symptom duration: associations with age, severity and vaccination status in Brunei Darussalam, 2021

@#Objective: This retrospective, cross-sectional, observational study assessed the duration of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms during the second wave in Brunei Darussalam. Methods: Data from COVID-19 cases admitted to the National Isolation Centre during 7–30 August 2021 were included in the study. Symptom onset and daily symptom assessments were entered into a database during hospitalization and disease was categorized by severity. The time between symptom onset and hospital admission, the duration of symptoms and length of hospitalization were assessed separately by age group, disease severity and vaccination status using one-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc corrections. Results: Data from 548 cases were included in the study: 55.7% (305) of cases were male, and cases had a mean age of 33.7 years. Overall, 81.3% (446) reported symptoms at admission (mean number of symptoms and standard deviation: 2.8 ± 1.6), with cough (59.1%; 324), fever (38.9%; 213) and sore throat (18.4%; 101) being the most common. Being older, having more severe disease and being unvaccinated were significantly associated with the time between symptom onset and hospital admission, symptom duration and length of hospitalization. Discussion: Knowing which factors predict the duration of COVID-19 symptoms can help in planning management strategies, such as the duration of isolation, predict the length of hospitalization and treatment, and provide more accurate counselling to patients regarding their illness.

Screening of hospital admissions for COVID-19 in Brunei Darussalam

@#From late December 2019, an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) occurred in Wuhan, China and has spread globally resulting in a pandemic. Brunei Darussalam reported its first case of COVID-19 on 9 March 2020. Several measures were implemented to prevent a national outbreak. We report our experience with surveillance of patients requiring admission in all government hospitals. We detected one positive case, and through contact tracing two further cases were detected. Therefore, without this screening programme, these cases would likely have been missed, leading to further nosocomial and community spread.

Prevalence of primary bacterial co-infections among patients with COVID-19 in Brunei Darussalam

@#Objective: Bacterial co-infections in cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can lead to less favourable outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of primary bacterial co-infections among patients with COVID-19 in Brunei Darussalam. Methods: Seventy-one of 180 patients admitted to the National Isolation Centre between 9 March 2020 and 4 February 2021 were screened for primary bacterial co-infection (infection occurring <48 h from admission). We compared patients with a primary bacterial co-infection to those without. Results: Of the 71 screened patients, 8 (11.2%) had a primary bacterial co-infection (sputum 37.5% [6/16], blood 2.8% [1/36], urine 1.7% [1/60]), for a period prevalence rate of 4.4% (respiratory tract infection 3.3% [6/180], bloodstream 0.6% [1/180], urine 0.6% [1/180]) among all COVID-19 patients. Older age, presence of comorbidity, symptoms at admission (fever, dyspnoea, nausea/vomiting), abnormal chest X-ray (CXR) and more severe COVID-19 (P < 0.05) were associated with primary bacterial co-infection. Primary bacterial co-infection was also associated with development of secondary infection and death (all P < 0.05). Only one patient with primary bacterial co-infection died (methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus septicaemia and multiorgan failure). Conclusions: Our study showed that primary bacterial co-infection affected 4.4% of patients with COVID-19 in Brunei Darussalam. Older age, presence of comorbidity, symptoms and abnormal CXR at admission and more severe disease were associated with a primary bacterial co-infection. Lower respiratory tract infection was the most common co-infection.

A Rare Case of Dysphagia Secondary to a Large Oesophageal Lipoma

Dysphagia is considered a warning symptom that requires exclusion of significant pathology such as oesophageal cancer, especially in elderly patients. Benign neoplasms of the oesophagus are rare. We report the case of a 69-year-old lady who presented with a five years history of infrequent intermittent dysphagia that had rapidly progressed over one month. This was associated with globus sensation, weight loss, intermittent episodes of stridor and aspiration pneumonia. Investigations revealed a large oesophageal lipoma in the proximal oesophagus extending down to the lower oesophagus. This was successfully resected via a left cervical approach. She remained well two years after the surgery.

Signet ring cell lymphoma of the small bowel: a case report

Gastrointestinal lymphoma of the bowel is uncommon compared to adenocarcinoma. Signet ring cell lymphoma [SRCL] is a rare variant of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that is characterized by clear cytoplasm with displaced nuclei to the periphery giving a signet ring appearance. Small bowel involvement has not been previously reported. We report the rare case of a 78-year-old female who presented with short history of fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, mild weight loss with abdominal discomfort and was later diagnosed to have SRCL of the ileum

Tuberculosis: a mimicker of malignancy

Tuberculosis infection remains an important cause of mortality. The clinical and radiological manifestations can be non-specific and resemble many other conditions, including malignancies. This could lead to diagnostic delay. We report the case of a 48-year-old woman with tuberculosis presenting with a right upper lobe mass manifesting as metastatic lung cancer. She also had liver cirrhosis secondary to chronic hepatitis B infection. She developed hepatitis two weeks into her tuberculosis treatment. Our case highlights the importance of considering tuberculosis in patients suspected to have underlying malignancy and to be aware of the potential adverse effects of treatment.

Spectrum of endoscopic findings among patients referred for colonoscopy in RIPAS Hospital

Introduction: Colonoscopy is an investigation for the evaluation of lower gastrointestinal symptoms. Just like any other conditions, it is important to be aware of the spectrum of findings so that appropriate referral and decisions can be made. Materials and Methods: Patients (mean age 52.3 ± 15.3 years old with almost equal proportion of genders) referred for colonoscopy in RIPAS Hospital over a five year period (January 2003 to December 2007) were retrospectively identified and studied. Results: The most common indication for colonoscopy was bleeding per rectum (22.9%), followed by evaluation of abdominal pain (18.6%), anaemia (11.7%), colorectal cancer screening (11.7%), evaluation of constipation (5.9%) and altered bowel habits (3.8%). A large proportion (58.4%) colonoscopy was normal. The most common positive finding was haemorrhoids (30.3%), majority of which were categorised as grade I. This was followed by colonic polyps (17.6%), diverticular disease (12.1%), non-specific colitis (4.0%), colorectal cancers (4.0%) and ulcers (3.6%), melanosis coli (0.4%) and telangiectasia (0.1%). Colorectal cancer was most common among the Malays (4.4%), followed by the Chinese (4.0%), the indigenous (2.8%) and the others (1.2%). Conclusions: Our study showed that the most common indication was for the evaluation of bleeding per rectum. Majority had normal colonoscopy and the most common positive finding was haemorrhoids. Importantly colorectal neoplasms accounted for one fifth of procedures with colorectal cancers accounting for four percent.

Porcelain gallbladder: The rare end of the spectrum of chronic cholecystitis

Porcelain gallbladder is an uncommon manifestation of chronic cholecystitis. The wall of the gallbladder becomes hard, calcified and brittle with a bluish-white tinge which resembles a porcelain ceramic. This condition is associated with increased risk of malignancy. We report two cases, both female patients (both 56 years old) who were diagnosed with porcelain gallbladder. One presented with a pyogenic liver abscess and the other was diagnosed to have gallbladder carcinoma on the background of porcelain gallbladder with metastases in liver.

Cholecystectomy rate following endoscopic biliary interventions

Introduction: Gallstones disease is a common disorder and symptomatic disease is usually managed with surgery while those with common bile duct stones are usually managed with endoscopic intervention before proceeding to surgery. This study was intended to assess the rate of cholecystectomy among patients who had undergone ERC interventions, the reasons for not proceeding to cholecystectomy and related complications. Materials and Methods: Patients who had intact gallbladder and had undergone ERC for stones related complications over a two year period were retrospectively identified from the Endoscopic Unit Registry. Detailed case note reviews were conducted. Results: The overall cholecystectomy rate post-ERC interventions was 36.9% (48/130). Cholecystectomy was offered to 59.2% (n=77) and the uptake was only 58.4% (n=45/77). Among those who agreed for cholecystectomy, 11.1% (n=5/45) failed to turn up for their scheduled surgery. Three patients (6.7%) had symptoms recurrence before their scheduled surgery: two subsequently underwent cholecystectomy without ERC intervention and one who was pregnant was managed conservatively with holecystectomy. Among the patients who had declined cholecystectomy, 18.8% (n=6/32) had symptoms recurrence. Four patients required repeat ERC interventions and eventually all had cholecystectomy subsequently. The most common reason for declining cholecystectomy was 'not keen' and already asymptomatic (46.9%, n=15/32). Among patients who were not offerred cholecystectomy (n=53/130), symptoms recurrence occurred in 15.2% (n=7/53). Four patients required repeat ERC interventions and three subsequently underwent cholecystectomy. Conclusions: The cholecystectomy rate remains low after ERC interventions. Recurrence of symptoms necessating re-interventions occurred in patients offerred and not offerred cholecystectomy. The uptake rate should be improved and delay to cholecystectomy should be reduced to avoid symptoms recurrence. Patients not undergoing interventions should be advised regarding symptoms recurrence and should be monitored.

Oesophageal tuberculosis: rare but not to be forgotten

Tuberculosis remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in underdeveloped and developing nations. Manifestations could be nonspecific and may mimic many other conditions, including malignancies. Oesophageal involvement is surprisingly rare despite the high prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis and the close proximity of these two structures. We report two cases of oesophageal tuberculosis; a 73-year-old man with simultaneous oesophageal, stomach and duodenal involvement, and a 45-year-old man with isolated oesophageal involvement. Underlying malignancies were initially suspected in both cases, but they were eventually diagnosed as tuberculosis.

Oesophageal ulcers secondary to doxycycline and herpes simplex infection in an immunocompetent patient

Oesophageal ulcerations are generally rare occurrences that are most commonly associated with gastro-oesophageal reflux disorder. Other causes include medications and infections in immunocompromised patients. Among the medications used in daily practice, doxycycline is most commonly implicated. Multiple aetiologies are generally uncommon. We report a case of mid-oesophageal ulcerations secondary to doxycycline and herpes simplex virus infection in an immunocompetent patient.