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Medical Practice
Severe traumatic brain injury: Don’t be too hasty in pulling the plug
Recent research adds to a body of evidence indicating decisions about withdrawing life-sustaining treatment for patients with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) should not...
Female surgeons face more major pregnancy complications
A US study in JAMA Surgery found that 48% of surveyed female surgeons experienced major pregnancy complications, with those who operated 12-or-more hours per week...
COVID-19: A ready-reference of current and failed treatments
Under the ferocious onslaught of COVID-19, there’s been a scramble not only to find new medicines but to repurpose old ones, writes MedicalBrief. Not...
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...
FDA's approval of aducanumab will bring enormous pressure on doctors
Alzheimer's treatment aducanumab (Aduhelm) won controversial US Food and Drug Administration approval this week, writes MedicalBrief. With no eligibility restrictions imposed in the decision,...
A fifth of IVF cases in UK are now over-40s women
Over the past three decades, there’s been a 20-fold increase to in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment for UK women in their 40s, who now comprise...
US patients' new electronic access to records hits snags
Since last month, US health care providers must, upond request and without delay, give patients free electronic access to their health information, reports Kaiser...
Accurate medical record keeping 'not to be underestimated'
The importance of accurate medical record keeping cannot be underestimated for its vital role in providing evidence in medical malpractice litigation, says Johannesburg lawyer Natasha...
CDC's health sector masking guidelines were a deadly mistake
Until a month ago, the gold-standard guidelines on health sector mask usage were based on the belief that N95 masks should be reserved for...
36% of UK doctors suffer from workplace burnout
Research led by Imperial College London has found that 36% of UK doctors may suffer from workplace burnout, rising to 43% of trainee doctors,...
'Weekend effect' linked to admission habits of junior doctors
A UK study suggested that the "weekend effect" of increased hospital mortality was driven by junior doctors admitting a lower proportion of relatively healthy...
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...
AI 'at best' on a par with human experts when making image-based diagnoses – review
Artificial intelligence (AI) is "at best" on a par with human experts when it comes to making medical diagnoses based on images, that a...
Women dying from heart attacks because of failure to recognise symptoms
Women who suffer heart attacks are dying needlessly because they fail to recognise their symptoms and receive poorer care than men, BBC News reports...
Registrar burnout at Wits far exceeds international norms
More than that 80% registrars at the University of the Witwatersrand's School of Clinical Medicine suffer from burnout, a response to prolonged stress,...
Hearing aids linked to reduced risk of mental decline and falls but few get them
Hearing aids are associated with significantly reduced risk of physical and mental decline, although only 12% of those formally diagnosed with hearing loss...
Should doctors should accept unvaccinated children as patients?
Four in 10 parents say they are very or somewhat likely to move their child to a different provider if their doctor sees families...
UK medical schools fail to provide adequate training on eating disorders
A study of all Britain's medical schools has revealed that medical students receive less than two hours of training on eating disorders over four...
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,...
GPs seeing twice as many patients as safe-limit — UK survey
GPs in the UK are seeing up to 60 patients a day, double the number they consider safe, as services struggle with staff shortages...
'I’m afraid I have some bad news…'
Both researchers and medical schools have tried to figure out how doctors should communicate with patients to deliver hard-to-swallow information. There is little evidence that...
Anti-vaxxers target doctors on social media and rating websites
More doctors are being attacked online for recommending parents vaccinate their children as part of a coordinated effort by anti-vaccine groups. Fictitious patient reviews...
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...
Large UK study finds statins fail to lower cholesterol in over half of patients
Experts have warned a more tailored approach is needed to the prescribing of statins, following a study suggesting they are ineffective at lowering cholesterol...
Women in ob/gyn earn less money than men in US
While women outnumber men in the US as obstetrics and gynaecology (ob/gyn) practitioners, they still make significantly less money and the pay gap extends...
The legal permutations of being a Good Samaritan
SA doctors have a constitutional duty of care, writes Dr Tony Behrman, consultant for the Medical Protection Society. But unlike some countries where if...
Over 40% of GPs intend to quit within five years: UK survey
A University of Warwick survey of GPs in the UK has revealed that over 40% intend to leave general practice within the next five...
Video of Australian chiropractor's 'very disturbing' treatment of 2-week-old baby
https://youtu.be/GlUdGxcXyP0
An Australian chiropractor has sparked criticism after a video of him performing controversial spinal treatments on a two-week-old baby was posted online, reports 2gb.
The footage...
Expert panel strongly recommends against almost all shoulder pain surgery
Surgery should not be performed in almost all patients with a common cause of shoulder pain known as subacromial pain syndrome or SAPS (also...
Complementary medicine use often not disclosed to medical providers
Research reveals that 1 in 3 complementary medicine (CM) users do not disclose their use of these medicines to their medical providers, posing significant...
Missed GP appointments 'substantially' increase all-cause mortality
Missing GP appointments is associated with early death, and those with long-term mental health conditions are at particular risk, according to a large Scotland...
Discrimination a reality for most female surgeons
More than half of female surgeons have faced or witnessed discrimination in the workplace, with orthopaedics was seen as the most sexist of all...
Medical providers most likely to be the culprits in health data breaches
Personal identity may fall at the mercy of sophisticated hackers on many websites, but when it comes to health data breaches, hospitals, doctors’ offices...
Why patients lie to their doctors
A study has found that 60% to 80% of people surveyed have not been forthcoming with their doctors about information that could be relevant...
Med scheme actions trigger practitioner calls to 'rein in' and 'rise up'
The SA Private Practitioners Forum has lodged a complaint with the Council for Medical Schemes that the two largest medical schemes — Discovery and...
Review of SA's 15 years of compulsory community service for doctors
The SA experience of compulsory Community Service (CS) over the first 15 years has been 'overwhelmingly positive', largely meeting objectives of redistribution of health...
BHF calls on govt to regulate where private sector doctors work
The Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) has called on the government to consider regulating where private sector doctors and specialists work, in order to distribute...
Women more likely to survive heart attack if treated by female doctor
A large US study found higher mortality among female heart attack patients treated by male doctors than those treated by women. Male and female...
AI cannot replicate the 'gut feelings' of human doctors – MIT study
Many technology companies are working on artificial intelligence systems that can analyse medical data to help diagnose or treat health problems. Such systems raise...
UCT leader should apologise for aggravating student trauma
University of Cape Town Vice-Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng owes students an apology for aggravating the 'trauma' students experienced at the suicide of Professor Bongani Mayosi...