HomeA Practitioner's Must Read
A Practitioner's Must Read
Simple dietary changes may have significant effect on psoriasis
A Western diet rich in sugar and fat leads to an imbalance in the gut's microbial culture and may contribute to inflammatory skin diseases...
Long COVID: More than a quarter of patients still symptomatic after six months — Swiss study
In a study of adults from the Zurich general population who were infected with COVID-19 in 2020, more than a quarter report not having...
South African childhood asthma guidelines 2021
Asthma is the most common chronic illness of childhood. The prevalence is rising and the mortality and morbidity from asthma in South Africa are...
‘Potential new standard’ in high-risk kidney cancer — KEYNOTE-564 trial
Single-agent immune checkpoint inhibition after surgery reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death in patients with high-risk clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC),...
AI outperforms humans in creating cancer treatments — but doctors balk
The impact of deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) for radiation cancer therapy in a real-world clinical setting has been tested by Canadian researchers in a...
Final SPRINT study confirms benefits of aggressive BP management
Final results from the landmark SPRINT study confirm that aggressive blood pressure (BP) management, targeting a systolic blood pressure (SBP) below 120 mm Hg,...
Sleep meds make no difference to insomnia over the long term
Long term use of prescription meds for insomnia doesn't seem to improve disturbed sleep in middle-aged women, found a study conducted over 21 years,...
Baby Aspirin on par with full-dose for cardiovascular disease
A large landmark study found that low-dose and regular-strength aspirin is equally safe and effective for preventing additional heart problems in people who already...
Vagus nerve stimulation: A potential new treatment for ischaemic stroke
Vagus nerve stimulation in patients who had moderate-to-severe loss of arm function after suffering from ischaemic stroke at least 9 months before enrolment, resulted...
Clinical guide to diagnosing, in children, bruising caused by abuse
Bruising caused by physical abuse is the most common injury to be overlooked or misdiagnosed as non-abusive before an abuse-related fatality or near-fatality in...
AGA: New clinical practice guidelines on IGBs for weight loss
With obesity affecting 40% of the US population, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has released new recommendations on the therapeutic role of intragastric balloons...
Bariatric surgery significantly cuts cancer risk in severely obese NAFLD patients
Bariatric surgery can significantly reduce the risk of cancer – and especially obesity-related cancers – by as much as half in certain individuals, according...
Common Alzheimer's treatment linked to slower cognitive decline — 5-year Karolinska study
Cholinesterase inhibitors are a group of drugs recommended for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, but their effects on cognition have been debated and few...
Royal College Ireland: Surgery best for acute uncomplicated appendicitis
A Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland study conducted in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin has found that surgery, rather than antibiotics-only, should remain as the...
Omega-3 based medicine plus statins may lower stroke risk another 36%
Taking the triglyceride-lowering prescription medicine icosapent ethyl cut the risk of stroke by an additional 36% in people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease...
Statins found to have no effect on muscle pain in placebo trial
A study has found no overall effect of statins on the frequency or severity of muscle symptoms compared with placebo in people who had...
Induction at 41 weeks the safer option for women and their babies
Inducing labour at 41 weeks in low risk pregnancies is associated with a lower risk of new-born death compared with expectant management (a “wait...
Tenofovir does not increase risk of kidney disease in those at low risk
Antiretroviral treatment containing the older formulation of tenofovir (TDF) did not increase the risk of chronic kidney disease in previously untreated people with HIV...
In the long run, drugs and talk therapy hold same value for depression patients
Spending an hour in talk therapy with a trained counsellor costs much more, and takes more time, than swallowing an inexpensive antidepressant pill. But...
Solutions to physician burnout — US National Academy of Medicine report
In response to concerning rates of burnout among US clinicians and trainees, the National Academy of Medicine has published a report that aims to...
Non-pharmacologic interventions for dementia patients with aggression symptoms
For patients with dementia who have symptoms of aggression and agitation, interventions such as outdoor activities, massage and touch therapy may be more effective...
Updated guidelines on diagnosis treatment of community-acquired pneumonia
The American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) have published updated guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of adults...
Ingestible sensor could revolutionise TB treatment
An ingestible sensor that enables health workers to check that patients have taken their medication could revolutionise tuberculosis treatment, particularly in developing countries, The...
Immunotherapy substantially improves survival in advanced melanoma patients
Immunotherapy substantially improves survival in metastatic melanoma, from 5-year survival levels of 5% a decade ago, to 52% now, a clinical trial shows. Doctors...
Sublingual immunotherapy effective and safe treatment for peanut allergy
Sublingual immunotherapy, a new treatment for peanut, could offer patients a safe and effective way to protect themselves from severe allergic reactions or even...
Surgical masks match respirators for flu and respiratory virus protection
A US study reported “no significant difference in the effectiveness” of medical masks versus more expensive N95 respirators for prevention of influenza or other viral respiratory...
New NICE hypertension guidelines a 'pragmatic compromise’ — The Lancet
The latest UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on antihypertensives "should be welcomed" as "a pragmatic compromise", writes The Lancet in an...
Low-dose aspirin of no benefit for CVD-free people over 70
Low-dose aspirin does not prolong disability-free survival of healthy people over 70, even in those at the highest risk of cardiovascular disease. The late...
'Alarming' rates of second-line HIV treatment failure in sub-Saharan Africa
The number of people failing second-line antiretroviral treatment (ART) is reaching “alarming” levels in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with failure more common in the first...
FDA approves treatment for highly drug-resistant forms of TB
Pretomanid, a novel compound developed by the non-profit organisation TB Alliance, has been approved by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for treating...
Home births as safe as hospital births — international study
A large international study led by McMaster University shows that low risk pregnant women who intend to give birth at home have no increased...
Concern over contraceptive solutions for women at high risk of HIV
Over the past three days, the World Health Organisation guideline development group has been meeting to discuss its recommendations for the use of contraceptive...
Invasive cervical cancer rates high in women living with HIV in Africa and Latin America
A study has found that rates of invasive cervical cancer (ICC) are particularly high in women living with HIV in South Africa or Latin...
Sleep-disordered breathing linked to accelerated ageing
Increasing severity of sleep-disordered breathing and sleep disruption are associated with epigenetic age acceleration, according to preliminary results of a US study. Results show...
FDA recommends TB Alliance's MDR-TB treatment regimen
Independent experts of a US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted in favour of the not-for-profit TB Alliance’s treatment for drug resistant tuberculosis, as...
Physical exercise: A ‘fundamental’ psychiatric intervention
When it comes to inpatient treatment of a range of mental health and mood disorders – from anxiety and depression to schizophrenia, suicidality and...
WHO classifies gaming disorder and burnout as illnesses
The World Health Organisation has moved forward with a proposal to classify “gaming disorder” as an illness, reports Venture Beat. After a consideration period...
Tele-medicine preferred to in-person appointments — US study
Nine out of 10 people who had a virtual visit with a doctor said it was more convenient than other ways of getting care,...
'Practice-changing' study on antibiotics given after assisted birth
Thousands of women every year could be spared painful and occasionally life-threatening infections if doctors administered preventive antibiotics after every assisted childbirth, The Guardian...
US opioid prescription guidelines 'wrongly implemented'
The authors of influential US guidelines for opioid prescriptions for chronic pain say that doctors and others in the health care system had wrongly...