Carlos KH Wong

Carlos KH Wong
The University of Hong Kong | HKU · Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy

PhD, MPhil, BSc

About

371
Publications
43,428
Reads
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7,286
Citations
Additional affiliations
August 2017 - present
The University of Hong Kong
Position
  • Professor
August 2014 - July 2017
The University of Hong Kong
Position
  • Professor
November 2012 - July 2014
The University of Hong Kong
Position
  • PostDoc Position

Publications

Publications (371)
Article
Background Evidence remains inconclusive on any significant benefits of remdesivir in mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients. This study explored the disease progression, various clinical outcomes, changes in viral load, and costs associated with early remdesivir treatment among COVID-19 patients. Methods A territory-wide retrospective cohort of 10,41...
Article
Background Case reports of severe acute liver injury (ALI) following COVID-19 vaccination are recently described. We evaluated the risks of ALI following COVID-19 vaccines (BNT162b2 or CoronaVac). Methods We conducted a modified self-controlled case series analysis using the vaccination records in Hong Kong with data linkage to electronic medical...
Article
Background Data on the effectiveness of oral antivirals in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 are urgently needed. This retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the clinical and virological outcomes associated with molnupiravir or nirmatrelvir–ritonavir use in hospitalised patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 during a pandemic wave domi...
Article
Background Little is known about the real-world effectiveness of oral antivirals against the SARS-CoV-2 omicron (B.1.1.529) variant. We aimed to assess the clinical effectiveness of two oral antiviral drugs among community-dwelling COVID-19 outpatients in Hong Kong. Methods In this observational study, we used data from the Hong Kong Hospital Auth...
Article
Background: Viral rebound after nirmatrelvir-ritonavir treatment has implications for the clinical management and isolation of patients with COVID-19. We evaluated an unselected, population-wide cohort to identify the incidence of viral burden rebound and associated risk factors and clinical outcomes. Methods: We did a retrospective cohort study...
Article
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Background Previous studies reveal inconsistent associations between serum lipid traits and the risks of fractures and osteoporosis in the general population. Methods This prospective cohort study analysed data from 414 302 UK Biobank participants (223 060 women and 191 242 men, aged 37–73 years) with serum lipid measurements: apolipoprotein A (Ap...
Article
158 Background: Despite evidence that patients living with cancer who continue to smoke after diagnosis are at a higher risk for all-cause mortality and reduced treatment efficacy, many cancer patients continue to smoke. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of using a brief risk communication approach to help smokers with cancer quit smoki...
Article
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Introduction Identifying the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) gaps of healthy eating can inform the design of effective interventions. This study aimed to test the validity and psychometric properties of a KAP of Healthy Eating Questionnaire (KAP-HEQ) tailored to the Chinese culture. Methods The dimensions and potential items of each KAP...
Article
Background SARS‐CoV‐2 infection was known to be associated with higher risk of liver impairment in people with chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB). However, evidence regarding the impact of concomitant hepatic steatosis (HS) on the risk of liver disease among people with CHB and SARS‐CoV‐2 infection is lacking. We investigated the impact of concomi...
Article
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Currently there is a lack of randomized trial data examining the use of the antiviral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in paediatric patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. This target trial emulation study aims to address this gap by evaluating the use of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in non-hospitalized paediatric patients aged 12–17 years with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron var...
Article
Introduction: The Framingham risk model estimates a person's 10-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. This study used this model to calculate the changes in sex- and age-specific CVD risks in the Hong Kong Population Health Survey (PHS) 2014/15 compared with two previous surveys conducted during 2003 and 2005, namely, PHS 2003/2004 and Heart Hea...
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Introduction/Objectives A non-laboratory-based pre-diabetes/diabetes mellitus (pre-DM/DM) risk prediction model developed from the Hong Kong Chinese population showed good external discrimination in a primary care (PC) population, but the estimated risk level was significantly lower than the observed incidence, indicating poor calibration. This stu...
Article
Objectives This network meta‐analysis aimed to evaluate the association of anti‐thyroid drugs (ATD), radioactive iodine (RAI), and thyroidectomy with subsequent outcomes in patients with newly‐diagnosed hyperthyroidism. Methods The Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for observational studies and randomized cont...
Article
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Reports of symptomatic rebound and/or test re-positivity among COVID-19 patients following the standard five-day treatment course of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir have sparked debates regarding optimal treatment timing and dosage. It is unclear whether initiating nirmatrelvir/ritonavir immediately after symptom onset would improve clinical outcomes and/or...
Article
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To date there is a lack of randomized trial data examining the use of the antiviral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in SARS-CoV-2-infected pregnant persons. This target trial emulation study aims to address this gap by evaluating the use of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in non-hospitalized pregnant women with symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection. Among...
Article
Background It is unclear how the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has affected multimorbidity incidence among those with one pre-existing chronic condition, as well as how vaccination could modify this association. Aim To examine the association of Covid-19 infection with multimorbidity incidence among people with one pre-existing chron...
Article
In this cohort study conducted in Hong Kong where both bivalent and monovalent formulations of BNT162b2 were available, there was no significant differences in the mortality or hospitalization between those who received bivalent and monovalent mRNA as second boosters. Bivalent and monovalent mRNA boosters appear equally protective against clinical...
Article
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Background: Case reports suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection could lead to immune dysregulation and trigger autoimmunity while COVID-19 vaccination is effective against severe COVID-19 outcomes. We aim to examine the association between COVID-19 and development of autoimmune diseases (ADs), and the potential protective effect of COVID-19 vaccination...
Article
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Background This network meta-analysis aimed to compare the effects of bariatric surgery, novel glucose-lowering agents (SGLT2i, GLP1RA, DPP4i), and insulin for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. Methods Four databases were searched from inception to April 2023 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing bariat...
Article
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Background: The risk factors for persistent opioid use after surgical discharge and the association between opioid prescription at discharge and postoperative emergency department visits, readmission, and mortality are unclear. Methods: This population-based retrospective cohort study involved opioid-naive patients who underwent surgical procedu...
Article
Background: People with substance use disorder have a high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and subsequent poor outcomes. Few studies have evaluated COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among people with substance use disorder. We aimed to estimate the vaccine effectiveness of BNT162b2 (Fosun-BioNTech) and CoronaVac (Sinovac) against SARS-CoV-2 omicron (B.1...
Article
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Importance: Diabetes and COVID-19 are both global pandemics, and type 2 diabetes is a common comorbidity in patients with acute COVID-19 and is proven to be a key determinant of COVID-19 prognosis. Molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir-ritonavir are oral antiviral medications recently approved for nonhospitalized patients with mild to moderate COVID-19, f...
Article
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Background COVID‐19 vaccines have demonstrated effectiveness against SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, hospitalization, and mortality. The association between vaccination and risk of cardiovascular complications shortly after SARS‐CoV‐2 infection among patients with cardiovascular disease remains unknown. Methods and Results A case–control study was conducted...
Article
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Aims: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) have a higher risk of ischemic stroke or systemic embolism with a greater risk for female patients. This study aims to evaluate the risk of ischemic stroke or systemic embolism and bleeding following COVID-19 vaccination in patients with AF and the sex differences. Methods and results: Self-controlled...
Article
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Background: Severe COVID-19 appears to be disproportionately more common in children and adolescents since the emergence of Omicron. More evidence regarding vaccine effectiveness (VE) is urgently needed to assist policymakers in making decisions and minimize vaccine hesitancy among the public. Methods: This was a case-control study in the pediat...
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Background There are limited data on head-to-head comparative risk of stroke between sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA). We compared risk of stroke with its subtypes and incident atrial fibrillation (AF) between them. Methods A population-based, retrospective cohort of patient...
Article
Aims: To evaluate major osteoporotic fracture (MOF) risk among type 2 diabetes patients treated SGLT2i across eGFR and albuminuria categories. Methods: A population-based cohort of type 2 diabetes patients started on SGLT2i or DPP4i during 2007-2020 was identified from Hong Kong Hospital Authority database. One-to-one propensity score matching w...
Article
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Background: Multimorbidity is a prevalent risk factor for COVID-19-related complications and death. We sought to evaluate the association of homologous booster vaccination using BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) or CoronaVac (Sinovac) with COVID-19-related deaths among people with multimorbidity during the initial Omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic....
Article
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Background A progressive approach to quitting smoking has been a popular strategy for motivating smokers who are reluctant to quit. However, whether this strategy can effectively achieve complete cessation or is as successful as quitting immediately remains unresolved. This study aimed to determine whether quitting immediately or progressively was...
Article
Aims: This study aims to evaluate the short- and long-term associations between COVID-19 and development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes and mortality in the general population. Methods and results: A prospective cohort of patients with COVID-19 infection between 16 March 2020 and 30 November 2020 was identified from UK Biobank, and fol...
Article
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We tracked the effective reproduction number Rt of the predominant SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron BF.7 in Beijing in November – December 2022 by fitting a transmission dynamic model parameterized with real-time mobility data to (i) the daily number of new symptomatic cases on November 1–11 (when China’s zero-COVID interventions were still strictly enfo...
Preprint
We tracked the effective reproduction number Rt of Omicron BF.7 in Beijing in November-December 2022 by fitting a transmission dynamic model parameterized with real-time mobility data to (i) the daily number of new symptomatic cases on November 1-11 (when the zero-covid interventions were still strictly enforced) and (ii) the proportion of individu...
Article
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Evidence on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines among people who recovered from a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection is warranted to inform vaccination recommendations. Using the territory-wide public healthcare and vaccination records of over 2.5 million individuals in Hong Kong, we examined the potentially differential risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection,...
Preprint
Full-text available
We tracked the effective reproduction number R t of Omicron BF.7 in Beijing in November – December 2022 by fitting a transmission dynamic model parameterized with real-time mobility data to (i) the daily number of new symptomatic cases on November 1–11 (when the zero-covid interventions were still strictly enforced) and (ii) the proportion of indiv...
Preprint
BACKGROUND The prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in China particularly among young adults, and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infections are the most common STIs in young women. One of the most effective ways to prevent STIs is the consistent use of condoms during sexual intercourse. There has been no economic evaluation for an inter...
Article
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Background Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remain a significant public health concern, particularly among young adults, and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infections are the most common STIs in young women. One of the most effective ways to prevent STIs is the consistent use of condoms during sexual intercourse. There has been no economic evalua...
Preprint
BACKGROUND Text-messaging is effective for smoking cessation (SC). OBJECTIVE We assess if more interactive and adaptive instant messaging (IM) apps on a smartphone that allows personalization and chatting with SC advisors could further increase SC. METHODS 700 adult Chinese daily cigarette users were proactively recruited in communities in Hong K...
Article
Background Association between messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines and myocarditis has aroused public concern over vaccine safety. Objectives The goal of this study was to compare the prognosis of this condition with viral infection–related myocarditis over 180 days. Methods A territory-wide electronic public health care database in Hong Kong...
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Objectives The aim of this study is to quantify the mortality rate, direct healthcare costs, and cumulative life costs of pediatric patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1, type 2, and type 3 born in Hong Kong. Methods Data were collected from genetically confirmed SMA patients born in or after 2000 from the Hospital Authority medical d...
Article
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Background: The extent of thyroid surgery remains controversial for differentiated thyroid cancers (DTCs) that measure more than 1 cm but are not considered high risk. This study aimed to compare survival outcomes between hemithyroidectomy (HT) and total thyroidectomy (TT) in non-high-risk DTCs. Methods: A population-based retrospective cohort o...
Conference Paper
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Background Thyroiditis and Graves’ disease have been reported after COVID-19 vaccination. Patients with hypothyroidism due to various etiologies may be at risk of thyroid-specific outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the risks of thyroid-specific outcomes and adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination among patients treated for hypothyroidism. Methods In...
Article
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Background COVID-19 vaccines are important for patients with heart failure (HF) to prevent severe outcomes but the safety concerns could lead to vaccine hesitancy. This study aimed to investigate the safety of two COVID-19 vaccines, BNT162b2 and CoronaVac, in patients with HF. Methods We conducted a self-controlled case series analysis using the d...
Article
Background: Low-dose aspirin and metformin have been individually associated with a reduced risk of cancer. Whether their concurrent use in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) is unclear. Objective: Among individuals with T2DM taking metformin, we sought to evaluate the associa...
Article
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Objective The risk of seizure following BNT162b2 and CoronaVac vaccinations has been sparsely investigated. This study aimed to evaluate this association. Method Patients who had their first seizure‐related hospitalization between February 23, 2021 and January 31, 2022, were identified in Hong Kong. All seizure episodes happening on the day of vac...
Article
Background: With accruing case reports on de novo or relapsing glomerular diseases (GD) following different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines, we evaluated the risk of GD following BNT162b2 and CoronaVac vaccines. Methods: A modified self-controlled case series analysis was conducted using anonymized, territor...
Article
Introduction and Objectives Operations are a major precipitating factor for sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i)-associated diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). This study aimed to investigate the risks of SGLT2i-associated postoperative DKA.Methods We analysed a population-based cohort of patients with type 2 diabetes who underwent operation...
Article
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Background: In view of limited evidence that specifically addresses vaccine effectiveness (VE) in the older population, this study aims to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of BNT162b2 and CoronaVac in older adults during the Omicron BA.2 outbreak. Methods: This case-control study analysed data available between January and March 2022 from t...
Article
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Study design: Prospective study. Objective: To compare the burden between chronic non-specific low back pain (LBP) and axial spondyloarthropathy (SpA). Summary of background data: Chronic non-specific LBP and SpA are two debilitating yet different chronic musculoskeletal disorders. To compare their burden, propensity score matching is used to...
Article
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Background In view of accumulating case reports of thyroid dysfunction following COVID-19 vaccination, we evaluated the risks of incident thyroid dysfunction following inactivated (CoronaVac) and mRNA (BNT162b2) COVID-19 vaccines using a population-based dataset. Methods We identified people who received COVID-19 vaccination between 23 February an...
Article
Despite a conspicuous exacerbation of asthma among patients hospitalized due to influenza infection, no study has been attempted previously to elucidate the relationship between environmental factors, influenza activity, and asthma simultaneously in adults. In this study, we examined this relationship in adults using population-based hospitalizatio...
Article
Aims: To evaluate the association between the number of comorbidities and risk of mortality and healthcare cost among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients across different age groups. Materials and methods: A retrospective observational study of T2DM patients using electronic health records in Hong Kong. Patients were stratified by age (<50,...
Article
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IntroductionIn Hong Kong, CoronaVac and BNT162b2 have been approved for emergency use owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Reactions towards the vaccine and the risk of post-vaccination adverse events may be different between recipients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Objective The aim of this study was to eva...
Article
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has posed a serious threat to individuals with underlying chronic kidney disease (CKD). People with CKD are immunocompromised and therefore result in poorer outcomes including increased risk of hospitalization and mortalit...
Article
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Background Information on HRQOL can enhance patient diagnosis and management but it is rarely available in routine clinical practice. This mixed-method study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of the electronic EQ-5D-5L measurement of HRQOL in patients with chronic musculoskeletal problems in primary care. Methods In three primary care cl...
Article
OBJECTIVE Patients with type 2 diabetes are at higher risk for fracture risk because of attenuated bone turnover and impaired bone microarchitecture. The comparative effect of warfarin over non–vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) on incident fractures among patients with type 2 diabetes comorbid with atrial fibrillation (AF) remains to...
Article
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Objectives To highlight the prevalence of sleep problems and identify associated risk factors among a representative sample recruited from the general population of Hong Kong. Design, setting and participants Participants included 12 022 individuals (aged 15 or above) who took part in the Population Health Survey 2014/15, a territory-wide survey c...
Article
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Background: Magnetically controlled growing rods (MCGR) have replaced traditional growing rods (TGR) in the past decade, however, a comparison of their direct costs and treatment outcomes based on real longitudinal data is lacking. This study aims to compare the direct cost and treatment outcomes between TGR and MCGR, whilst incorporating complica...
Article
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Data regarding protection against mortality and severe complications after Omicron BA.2 infection with CoronaVac and BNT162b2 vaccines remains limited. We conducted a case-control study to evaluate the risk of severe complications and mortality following 1-3 doses of CoronaVac and BNT162b2 using electronic health records database. Cases were adults...
Article
OBJECTIVE The Risk Assessment and Management Programme–Diabetes Mellitus (RAMP-DM) is a protocol-driven, risk-stratified, and individualized management program offered by a multidisciplinary team in addition to usual care for primary care patients with diabetes. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of RAMP-DM for preventing complications...
Preprint
BACKGROUND Healthcare avoidance in the COVID-19 Pandemic has been widely reported. Yet few studies have investigated the dynamics of hospital avoidance behaviour during pandemic waves and inferred its impact on excess non-COVID-19 death toll. OBJECTIVE To measure the impact of hospital avoidance behaviour on excess mortality using emergency depart...
Article
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Background This study aims to evaluate the association between thromboembolic events and hemorrhagic stroke following BNT162b2 and CoronaVac vaccination. Methods Patients with incident thromboembolic events or hemorrhagic stroke within 28 days of covid-19 vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 positive test during 23 February to 30 September 2021 were included...
Article
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Background: The relationship between good early control of thyroid hormone levels after thyroidectomy for Graves’ disease (GD) and subsequent risks of mortality and morbidities is not well known. The aim of this study was to examine the association between thyroid hormone levels within a short interval after surgery and long-term mortality and morb...
Article
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Background Because evidence on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in older adults is scarce, we aimed to evaluate the incidence and risk of adverse events after CoronaVac (Sinovac Biotech) vaccination in adults aged 60 years or older. Methods In this modified self-controlled case series, we enrolled adults aged 60 years or older who had received at l...
Article
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BACKGROUND: Because evidence on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in older adults is scarce, we aimed to evaluate the incidence and risk of adverse events after CoronaVac (Sinovac Biotech) vaccination in adults aged 60 years or older. METHODS: In this modified self-controlled case series, we enrolled adults aged 60 years or older who had received at...
Article
Background: Postoperative pain following laparotomy for gynaecological diseases is a common problem that requires effective management to ensure patient satisfaction and recovery. Despite the wide use of acupuncture for pain management, knowledge of its efficacy in managing postoperative pain is limited. Previous literature used either acupuncture...
Article
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Background Kidney benefits have been demonstrated for both sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1RA) compared with placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes. This study aimed to compare the impacts of SGLT2i and GLP1RA on the trend of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and othe...