Davao Doctors Hospital is a privately owned hospital located in Davao City, Philippines. It was founded in 1969 in the Southern Philippines. It has 250 beds and a 10-storey Medical Tower Building that houses more than 130 active members of medical staff in varied specialties and sub-specialties.
e13619 Background: Cancer is now the Philippines’ second leading cause of death, yet the day-to-day realities of care remain poorly documented. Mapping the patients' cancer journey is a valuable tool in cancer care, providing a deep understanding of the patient's perspective and using that knowledge to drive improvements across the healthcare system. Despite the legislation and continuing implementation of the National Integrated Cancer Control Act (NICCA), a landmark policy designed to enhance access, equity, and quality of cancer care in the Philippines, there is a gap between the law's intended impact and the actual experiences of Filipino cancer patients. Methods: We conducted a multicenter qualitative study that combined focus-group discussions with real-time patient-journey mapping among 24 adults with diverse cancers from five Philippine regions. We independently applied inductive coding and developed an initial codebook that the entire team reviewed by consensus. Codes were aggregated into higher-order themes within and across regions, and matrix tables were created showing barriers and facilitators to care according to cancer phase and care setting. The team then generated a composite patient-journey map that visually represented these themes. Results: Twenty-four adults (15 females and 9 males), with a mean age of 52.5 years, participated in five regional journey-mapping sessions. Most patients had breast, lung, or rectal cancers. Eight patients (32%) had metastatic disease, while the rest had early or locally advanced cancers. Eight participants (32%) received treatment in private hospitals, 7 (28%) received concurrent mixed private-public hospital care, 5 (20%) received treatment in government hospitals only, and 4 participants (16%) switched from private to public hospitals. Thirteen (13) participants were able to receive treatment in a CSPMAP (Cancer and Supportive-Palliative Medicines Access Program)-enabled government facility. Four care trajectories surfaced: exclusive private care, public-to-private switching, concurrent mixed-sector use, and exclusive public care. Regardless of the care trajectory, five themes shaped experience: the navigational power of family, faith, and social capital; financial and geographic hurdles that magnify distress; the decisive impact of empathic clinicians; life-course disruption and anxiety during survivorship; and persistent recourse to alternative therapies. These insights pinpoint several touch-points that could be mitigated by strengthening the implementation of the NICCA: the need for early diagnostic access, more streamlined subsidy processes, and the impact of compassionate communication. Conclusions: Patient-journey mapping thus offers a practical lens for designing Filipino-centered cancer services in a resource-limited setting.
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES:Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among females globally and across most Asian countries. In 2022, Asia's age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) was 34.3/100,000, with age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) of 10.5.1000,000. Many Asian countries experience high incidence-to-mortality ratio due to limited organized screening programs, resource constraints and manpower limitations. The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in mammography interpretation may help address these challenges. MATERIALS AND METHODS:This multinational retrospective study evaluated the performance of AI-based computer-aided diagnosis (AI-CAD) in mammographic interpretation. A total of 302 digital mammograms, including 89 biopsy-proven breast cancers, were interpreted by nine experienced breast radiologists from multiple Asian institutions. Each radiologist participated in two reading sessions-one unaided and one with AI-CAD assistance. Diagnostic performance and reading time were compared between sessions. RESULTS:AI-CAD assistance significantly improved diagnostic performance, with the average area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (area under the curve [AUC]) increasing from 0.799 to 0.851 (p = 0.0151). Specificity improved from 77.0-88.4% (p = 0.03), while sensitivity showed no statistically significant difference. AI assistance also led to a significant reduction in average interpretation time, from 121.5 to 83.2 s per case (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION:AI-CAD significantly enhances specificity and reduces reading time in mammographic interpretation without compromising sensitivity. These findings support the integration of AI in breast cancer screening workflows, to improve diagnostic efficiency and optimize clinical outcomes. Importantly, they also underscore the importance of maintaining human oversight and critical judgment when using AI in clinical practice.
Folliculosebaceous cystic hamartoma (FSCH) is a rare cutaneous hamartoma, composed of follicular, sebaceous and mesenchymal elements, that usually presents as a small papule or nodule on the central face. We report the case of a man in his early 30s with a 10-year history of a large, reddish to violaceous scalp mass measuring 4.5 cm in greatest dimension. The initial clinical impression was a cylindroma. Histological examination revealed a dermal lesion with multiple sebaceous lobules clustered around a central infundibular structure within a fibrovascular stroma separated by cleft-like spaces. This case highlights an unusual clinical presentation and the importance of considering FSCH in the differential diagnosis of scalp masses.
Cerebellar ataxia is characterized by incoordination and decomposition of movements, manifesting as gait instability, limb incoordination, oculomotor dysfunction, and scanning dysarthria. Ataxias may be acquired or genetic. Currently, there is a paucity of published data among Filipinos. Herein, we review the etiologies of ataxia published in the literature and discuss the current state of ataxia work-up and management in the Philippines. A literature search was conducted in March 2026 using the search terms: ataxia OR cerebellar oculomotor abnormality OR scanning speech AND ((Philippines[Affiliation]) OR Filipino OR Philippines) in PubMed, Google Scholar, and in a local research index (Health Research and Development Information Network [HeRDIN]). The search yielded 42 unique articles, most of which were case reports/case series, and a few were part of large cohorts. Acquired ataxias were limited to case reports of autoimmune, toxic, infectious, post-infectious, prion-related, and degenerative causes. Case series of genetic forms of ataxias were mostly the autosomal dominant forms (SCA2, SCA7, SCA13, and SCA27A), with some autosomal recessive forms AVED, ataxia-telangiectasia, Wilson disease, two neurodevelopmental syndromes (ZMYND11-related syndromic intellectual disability, Angelman syndrome), and one mitochondrial ataxia (MERRF). The low number of published cases was likely due to under-recognition or underreporting, given the inaccessibility of workup in most areas outside large cities, the lack of local genetic testing services for confirmatory diagnosis, limited healthcare coverage for ataxias, and a lack of movement disorder neurologists/movement disorder centers. We highlight the absence of national‑level registries and limited access to advanced diagnostics, which likely contribute to substantial underrecognition and underreporting of ataxia in the Philippines. We have also proposed an algorithm for the diagnosis and management of ataxia in low-resource settings.
Background This antimicrobial surveillance study reports the in vitro antimicrobial activity and susceptibility data of various antimicrobials against Enterobacterales and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates in the Philippines.Methods Isolates were collected from three clinical sites in the Philippines between 2018 and 2021, as part of the Antimicrobial Testing Leadership and Surveillance (ATLAS) program. A central laboratory (International Health Management Associates, Inc.) performed antimicrobial susceptibility testing using broth microdilution methodology according to Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were interpreted using the CLSI (2023) breakpoints.Results A total of 1503 isolates were collected in the ATLAS program from 2018 to 2021. The top three pathogens throughout the study period were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (30.8%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (24.1%), and Escherichia coli (20.8%). Based on the CLSI (2023) breakpoints, isolates of Enterobacterales were highly susceptible to amikacin (98.6%), tigecycline (96.9%) and ceftazidime-avibactam (95.9%), while P. aeruginosa isolates were most susceptible to amikacin (96.5%), ceftazidime-avibactam (94.0%) and ceftolozane-tazobactam (92.7%).Conclusion The present ATLAS study provides essential insights on the prevalence and susceptibility patterns of Enterobacterales and P. aeruginosa isolates in the Philippines. Ceftazidime-avibactam is a valuable and effective treatment option due to its potent activity against Enterobacterales and P. aeruginosa. Continuous surveillance is important in improving antimicrobial stewardship and antibiotic prescriptions in the country.
