Understanding cannabis use in Singapore: profile of users and drug progression

INTRODUCTION@#Cannabis has consistently been the third most commonly abused drug among drug arrestees in Singapore over the past few years. Accordingly, this study aimed to understand the profile of cannabis users in Singapore and explore the effects of cannabis use on drug progression.@*METHODS@#A total of 450 participants who had used cannabis at least once in their lifetime were recruited from the National Addictions Management Service, prisons, the Community Rehabilitation Centre and halfway houses from August 2017 to May 2018. A face-to-face questionnaire was administered and descriptive analyses were conducted.@*RESULTS@#The mean participant age was 40.9 ± 14.51 years, and 93.1% of them were male. The participants generally initiated cannabis use during adolescence, at a mean onset age of 16.5 ± 4.46 years. Most (89.6%) were introduced to cannabis by peers. Approximately half of them (46.9%) had used cannabis before other illicit drugs and 42.1% of them had used heroin as the succeeding drug.@*CONCLUSION@#In Singapore, cannabis use is often initiated during adolescence, largely under peer influence. Cannabis users may progress to other illicit drugs, particularly heroin, later in life.

Dosimetric differences between volumetric modulated arc therapy plans with different arc numbers for cervical cancer / 医疗卫生装备

Object To study the effects of the number of arcs in the treatment of cervical cancer with volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) on the treatment plan, and to provide reference for the selection of the number of arcs in the clinical application.Methods CT images of 10 patients with cervical cancer were selected, it's the radiation therapist that delineated the target area and organs, the prescribed dose was 5040 cGy per 28 times to the target area, and single arc (Arc1), double arc (Arc2) and three (Arc3) plan were designed by RayStation planning system to compare the differences with the dosimetry characteristics of target and organs. The time required for planning optimization was recorded, and the difference between the monitor unit and the delivery time in the three plans was analyzed. A dose validation tool for PTW was used to verify the dose to analyze the influence of the number of arc on the passing rate of gamma verification.Results Single arc plan (Arc1), double arc plan (Arc2) and three arc plan (Arc3) for 10 cases of cervical cancer all proved to meet the clinical requirements. With the increase of arc number, the target area distribution got improved, V40, V45 and Dmean in the organs at risk of rectum, bladder, and femoral head gradually decreased in case of doses of 40 and 45 Gy, and V35, V40 and V45 in the normal tissue were lowered in case of the doses of 35, 40 and 45 Gy. With the increase of the arc number, the optimization time and the delivery time of the plan increased, while the difference between the monitor unit of the three plans was smaller. The passing rate of the three plans was more than 99.5％, and the difference was small.Conclusion Cervical cancer VMAT plan has the target dose distribution and the protection of organs at risk enhanced with the increase of the number of arcs, while the treatment time and cost increased. Therefore, it is necessary to take comprehensive considerations on the number of VMAT plan arcs.