HomeA Focus
A Focus
Infectious disease expert on the great COVID-19 mask debate — Wear them
Protection for medics must be a priority in the COVID-19 pandemic, says Professor Robin Wood, a global expert on the aerobiology of infectious disease...
SA lockdown necessary but more testing crucial — UCT's Professor Robin Wood
It is easy to throw stones at idiosyncratic bits of South Africa’s COVID-19 lockdown programme, but it was the right move, said the University...
Forced quarantine of 2 Limpopo doctors causes dismay
The forcible quarantining in a Limpopo hospital of two women doctors who had been self-isolating has caused dismay, writes MedicalBrief. Health MEC Dr Phophi...
International expert on aerial transmission for MedicalBrief webinar
A new Massachusetts Institute of Technology study concludes that health workers may be underestimating the risk of aerial transmission of COVID-19, while the head of China’s Centre for Disease...
Age-based triage looms in Italy and UK for allocation of ventilators and ICU beds
Italy's pressured health services has issued guidelines on the rationing of ventilators and intensive care beds, as patient demand escalates, while in the former...
SA doctors at the sharp end over COVID-19 treatment protocols
COVID-19 has barely hit South Africa and already our over-extended healthcare professionals are coming under enormous pressure from fearful and abusive patients, as well...
Consumers stockpile unproven drugs to self-medicate against COVID-19
Consumers worldwide are stockpiling and self medicating on drugs — chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, ritonavir and umifenovir — that have been hyped as cures on social...
Most cases 'mild’ and lockdown will flatten the curve — Mkhize
Despite exponential daily increases in coronavirus infections over the past few day, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize is confident that the national lockdown will see...
Supreme Court of Appeal's split decision over surgical negligence
In a split decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal, a Port Elizabeth woman has won a 10-year negligence action over two small nicks to her bile...
World in lockdown as global infections exceed 200,000
Emergencies were declared in SA and Australia while the EU sealed its borders and infections surfaced in every state in the USA, writes MedicalBrief. In the UK, a chilling modelling...
Medical cannabis in SA: Weighing the evidence
Current limited evidence of the benefits of medical cannabis may be outweighed by the lack of consistent efficacy and risk of adverse effects, since...
COVID-19 pandemic: Treatment and management options for SA practitioners
South Africa, with 13 imported coronavirus cases, currently fits the World Health Organisation's Transmission Scenario Two. Dr Richard Kaplan, writing for MedicalBrief, outlines decision-making...
Precedent-setting UK ruling extends legal duty of care to associated third parties
A UK High Court has ruled that doctors treating individuals with serious ailments owe a legal duty of care not just to their patients...
Electrolyte supplements don't prevent illness and may cause harm — Ultramarathon study
Electrolyte supplements are promoted as preventing nausea and cramping caused by low salt levels, but a Stanford study based on 266 ultramarathoners found that...
US and Europe may act too slowly in introducing robust anti-COVID-19 measures
The World Health Organisation has praised the "early and robust" control measures that appear to have curbed COVID-19 in China, writes MedicalBrief. But some...
Commission's report implicates the State in forced sterilisation of HIV+ women
A report by the Gender Equality Commission implicates the State in forced sterilisation of HIV positive women, writes MedicalBrief. The Health Professions Council...
Africa holds its breath as coronavirus hits Europe and Middle East
Despite only two diagnosed African cases of coronavirus so far, a Lancet study says South Africa, along with Algeria and Egypt, are at greatest risk on the continent, while a Bloomberg report warns that sub-Saharan Africa may...
CMS’ precedent setting ruling against Discovery's 'irrational decision-making'
In "a scathing and precedent-setting ruling" against Discovery Health Medical Scheme, the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) may open the door to force schemes...
COVID-19: SA 'would struggle' because of specialist shortage
Despite only one person in Africa so far diagnosed with Covid-19, experts warn of the potential for imminent havoc on an under-prepared, under-resourced continent,...
Coronavirus: 'Promising new treatments must be explored immediately'
The major effort in coping with the new coronavirus has been around isolation etc (short-term) and finding a vaccine (long-term), but international experts argue...
Western Cape Health gets its nose bloodied over 'stolen' broken armchairs
A vindictive, protracted and costly campaign by Western Cape Health against three young doctors for “unlawfully removing two blue chairs with the intent to...
When a sick note leads to an arrest warrant
The Pietermaritzburg High Court this week issued a stayed arrest warrant for former president Jacob Zuma, after rejecting a One Military Hospital “sick note” as inadequate, because of...
Africa becomes WHO priority in fight against fast-spreading coronavirus
The likelihood of a coronavirus outbreak in Africa was “very, very high”, the World Health Organisation warns, as cases of the respiratory illness...
Risk factors for suicide over a lifetime — systematic review
A review of previous studies into suicide worldwide by Oxford University and the Karolinska Institutet identifies the effects of individual and environmental risk factors,...
State medical negligence claims and payouts almost quadruple over four years
Claims for medical negligence against the state have almost quadrupled over the past four years, rising to R104.5bn in 2018/19 from R28.6bn in 2014/15,...
Mediterranean, fasting & Paleo diets go head-to-head Down Under
A New Zealand study put the popular Intermittent Fasting, Mediterranean and Paleo diets to a comparative test over a year in a "real world"...
Prosecuting healthcare professionals for culpable homicide – who benefits?
Medical Protection's Graham Howarth, head of medical services (SA) and Tony Behrman, business consultant write:
The recent arrest of colleagues on charges of culpable homicide...
Warning on sustained transmission of 2019-nCoV outbreak – WHO
The World Health Organisation warns of 'possible evidence' of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China spreading, writes MedicalBrief. UK scientists say that official totals...
Insurer's attack medical regulator's 'brutal violation of constitutional rights'
The out-of-the blue decision to end private-sector primary healthcare cover in March 2021 was “a brutal violation” of constitutional rights and, should medical...
Petition to drop 'premature' criminal charges against Beale and Munshi
Almost 50,000 people have signed a petition for authorities to drop the criminal case against paediatric surgeon Professor Peter Beale and anaesthetist Dr Abdulhay...
Wealth adds 8-9 healthy years to life expectancy
The wealthiest men and women can expect to live an additional eight to nine years free from disability compared to people in the poorest...
Arrest warrants for specialists a 'direct threat' to healthcare delivery
Unprecedented arrest warrants for two medical specialists accused of medical negligence continues to cause waves, writes MedicalBrief. The SA Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists...
Medical profession's opposition to NHI Bill grows
The medical profession is becoming more outspoken in its criticisms of the National Health Insurance Bill among growing concerns over large-scale emigration. The SA...
Intermittent fasting may help people live longer
Evidence is accumulating that eating in a 6-hour period and fasting for 18 hours can trigger a metabolic switch from glucose-based to ketone-based energy,...
CMS move to scrap low-cost plans is 'catastrophic and unconstitutional'
The Council for Medical Schemes has stunned the private health care sector with its decision to scrap by March 2021 the pared-down schemes and...
Faster breast cancer radiation treatment as effective as long course
A five-year multi-centre randomised control trial shows similar recurrence rates of breast cancer in patients treated by accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) over the...
TAC applies to join landmark medical negligence case before ConCourt
The activist Treatment Action Campaign has applied to be heard as a friend of the court in a landmark Constitutional Court case on medical...
Deal me in — playing games can protect cognitive skills in old age
People who play non-digital games – such as cards, crosswords and board games – are more likely to stay mentally sharp in later life,...
Parliament delays decision on whether to read NHI submissions
The National Assembly’s Health Committee will only consider how to manage the vast volume of written submissions it has received in response to the...
Landmark study highlights importance of cholesterol monitoring of young adults
Adults as young as 25, not only older people, need to know their “bad cholesterol” (non-HDL) levels so they can change their lifestyle or...