In JAMA recently, the topic of the management of Long COVID is debated (Landhuis, 2023). This is the advice offered. Believe the patient “Say it out loud. They need to hear it,” an expert said of patients with long COVID symptoms, who are often not believed. If their physician says, “‘I believe you, and […]
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An editorial in JAMA recently debates the prevention of progression of prediabetes to diabetes (Echouffo-Tcheugui, 2023) Prediabetes, an intermediate stage between normal glucose regulation and diabetes, affects 1 in 3 adults in the USA. And approximately 10% of people with prediabetes progress to having diabetes each year. A meta-analysis found that prediabetes at […]
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A report commissioned by Alzheimer’s Society from the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre (CPEC) at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) set out estimates for the number of people with dementia and the cost of dementia care in the UK, with projections to 2040 – i.e. over 2% of the population. […]
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The Future Healthcare Journal is published by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). In that journal, the inequity of medical negligence-based adversarial litigation (used in the USA, UK and Australia) is debated (Epstein, 2023). It is a recognised target for reform. Plaintiff autonomy is weakened by a dispute resolution system that has evolved around […]
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The Future Healthcare Journal is published by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). In a recent study, in that journal, the feasibility of smartwatches supporting rehabilitation post-surgical fixation was assessed (Hewage, 2023). In this UK-based non-randomised intervention study patients who had sustained a hip fracture (age ≥65 and Abbreviated Mental Test Score ≥8/10), were […]
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The Future Healthcare Journal is published by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). And in a recent paper the future of the hospital has been debated (Edwards, 2023). To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, rumours of the death of the hospital have been greatly exaggerated; or at least that would appear to be one of […]
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In the Lancet recently it has been suggested we need a fundamental change in appraising placebo in psychiatry research (Burke, 2023). Why? In the Alpha-Stim Anxiety Insomnia and Depression cranial electrotherapy stimulation trial, Richard Morriss and colleagues reported no significant difference in their primary depression outcome between active and sham groups. Although not the […]
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The BMJ has recently described new guidelines from the UK government, which suggest that anyone with a suspected concussion during any level of sport should immediately be removed from play (Iacobucci, 2023). The guidance, ‘If in Doubt, Sit Them Out’, is aimed primarily at the general public and people of all ages who participate […]
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Thousands of women are being urged to take up NHS breast screening (mammography) appointments as new figures revealed recently by NHS England showed nearly four in 10 did not take up the potentially lifesaving offer. Last year (2021-22) 1.97 million women aged 50 to 70 (62.3%) attended screening appointments (within six months of invitation) […]
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Short answer is .. no. In the NEJM on 27th April, Pittet et al, reported a RCT of BCG vaccination, in an attempt to prevent COVID-19. In addition to protecting against its target disease, tuberculosis, the bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine has immunomodulatory ‘off-target’; effects that may protect against unrelated infections. The BCG vaccine has […]
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