Tag: medicine

After a fall I landed in three hospitals – here is more of my story! Part 2

Hospital B in Singapore

On 6 June 2024 my children got me admitted into the Urgent Care Centre, Hospital B in Singapore. I was there for 1.5 days. We did the following:

  1. CT scan of the head. No contrast.Had fall with occipital haematoma. The scans demonstrate evidence of bilateral subdural hygromas slightly more prominent on the left side. This is associated with evidence of an acute subdural collection in the right parietal region. There is no associated midline shift noted. The 3rd and 4th ventricles are central in position.

  • MRI Stroke Screen which showed a small acute infarct at the right lentiform nucleus. Multiple foci of susceptibility are seen in both cerebral hemispheres, worse at the frontal regions, likely representing hemosiderin deposition.
  • Bilateral fronto-temporal cystic hygromas are note, measuring up to 1.0 cm in thickness.
  • No intracranial space occupying lesion.
  • No hydrocephalus or midline shift.
  • MRA: There is a mild narrowing and irregularity in the A1 segment of the right anterior cerebral artery and the M2 segment of the left middle cerebral artery (MCA). These may represent atherosclerotic changes or sequalae of a prior insult.
  • The rest of the MRA of the circle of Wilis demonstrates no other significant aneurysm, stenosis or vascular malformation. Normal vascular variations are present. Bilateral posterior communicating arteries are hypoplastic
  • Stenosis is demonstrated.
  • Final conclusion –  normal pulmonary artery pressure.
  • No intra thrombus or pericardial effusion.
  1. Blood test results on 6 June 2024:

Troponin T   14.6 High Sensitive. Result is critical.

Creatine Kinase-MB  1.2 (0.0 to 6.0 ng/mL)

Potassium   3.8   (3.3 to 5.0 mmol/L)

Sodium    133  Low  (135 – 150 mmol/L)

Uria, serum  8.1   High  (2.8 to 7.7 mmol/L)

Glucose, fasting   13.4   High  (3.6 to6.0 mmol/L)

Est GFR   86  Expected range >=60 mL/min/1.73 square metres

C-Reactive Protein    14.38   H (<=9.99 mg/L

Reason for admission: Stroke on 6 June 2024                                                                                                                            

Secondary diagnosis: Type 2 diabetes mellitus without complication.

Discharge date: 7 June 2024

A note from the neurosurgeon stated: He is not fit for any travelling meanwhile requires monitoring.

The total costs in Hospital B in Singapore, was SGD 10,346.58 or RM 36,112.51

Admission date: 6 June 2023, 20:16, Discharge date: 7 June 2023, 17.41

  • MRI Stroke Screen                                 GD 1,177.20
  • CT Brain                                                              698.99
  • Observation bed – 3hs                                    286.76
  • Single room                                                       787.16
  • Single room – half day                                    393.58
  • Consultation – office hour                             125.69       
  • Consultation – after hour                               148.62       
  • Hospital charges                                           1,790.74
  • Ultrasound                                                        905.80
  • Daily treatment fee                                         325.69
  • Doctor’s attendance fee                                436.00
  • General follow-up screen                              420.68
  • After hours surcharge                                    196.40
  • Physiotherapy                                                  205.25
  • Speech Therapy                                               350.37

From Hospital B, I learned the following:

  1. The reason why I fell could be due to a mild stroke.
  2. For the first time in my life, I have been told, once again, that I have diabetes – and it is a serious one at that!
  3. My blood was low in Sodium, this could be related / a contribution to the mild stroke.
  4. My blood pressure was also high.

It seems that an elderly man with no pain or any “health problems” can suddenly get “sick”!

So please careful.

Quotations from a professor turned patient

The Author: Professor Christopher Cheng is the CEO of Sengkang General Hospital and Senior Consultant Urologist at SGH and Singapore General Hospital. He is a pioneer in using robotics in prostate cancer surgery.

  • I thought I knew about prostate cancer … I have done countless … cancer operation for the prostate. I thought I knew… until I became a patient myself, lying on a cold operating table one Saturday morning in December 2017.
  • The reality is cancer can hit anyone.
  • The naked truth of what I went through may be shocking to some who have been led to believe erroneously, that modern healthcare, will all its glamorous robots and high-tech equipment, has a solution to almost anything.
  • Not all prostate cancers need to be cured or even treated and not all cancers that need treatment can be cured.
  • The treatment should not be worse than the disease itself and often more treatment is not necessarily the answer.
  • There are many both young and old who … believe that when the time comes, they can just check into the hospital and have everything fixed.
  • We will take care of you, but you must take care of yourself too.
  • (Doctors should) provide guidance and gentle nudges and support rather than coercion in their (patients) decision making … they are the ones who are on the operating table, they are the ones who have to live with the consequences.