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A Practitioner's Must Read
Despite HIV risk, withdrawing Depo-Provera could increase maternal mortality
Even if Depo-Provera and other contraceptive injections raise the risk of HIV infection, withdrawing them from use in African countries would greatly increase maternal...
Challenging the dogma of genotype-defined resistance to ARVs
Genotype-defined resistance to antiretrovirals supposedly predicts future virological failure. Findings from clinical studies, including the 144-week results from the EARNEST trial, challenge this decades-long...
GPs fail to spot two out of every three cases of pneumonia
Testing for fever, high pulse rate, crackly breath sounds, and low oxygen levels could be key to helping GPs distinguish difficult to diagnose pneumonia...
Improved healing for drained skin abscesses with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole
Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole treatment was associated with improved outcomes in patients with drained skin abscesses regardless of lesion size or guideline criteria, according to a study...
New charting tool to predict risk of Alzheimer's
A simple new charting tool that tracks cognitive performance in adults aims to help physicians identify people who may be on the path to...
UK doctors put demanding patients at risk with complaint avoidance techniques
Patients in the UK are being put at risk because doctors are giving them drugs they do not need and sending them for unnecessary...
New US guidelines expected to triple number of hypertension patients
Heart experts in the US have issued new guidelines for high blood pressure that mean tens of millions more Americans will meet the criteria...
Healthcare professionals keep the flu cycle rolling…
Some four in 10 of healthcare professionals (HCPs) work while experiencing influenza-like illness (ILI), according to the findings of a US survey. As in...
Cause of dyslexia is in the eyes' light-receptor cells — Royal Society study
French scientists claim they may have found a physiological, and seemingly treatable, cause for dyslexia hidden in tiny light-receptor cells in the human eye....
Adult-onset ADHD may not exist, study suggests
More than 80% of people who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adulthood are unlikely to have the condition, Medical News...
Generic medicine use hits an all-time high in SA
Based on the recently released Mediscor Medicines Review, generic use in SA has hit a record high of 60% compared to a low 35%...
HIV: The benefits of INH prophylaxis for TB are confirmed
Long-term follow-up in the ANRS TEMPRANO trial confirms that tuberculosis chemoprophylaxis in HIV-infected people is more than ever relevant in resource-limited countries. This prophylactic...
Cases of odyssean malaria reported in Pretoria
Four cases of malaria have been reported in Kilner Park, Pretoria, affecting persons with no recent history of travel to malaria transmission areas. Fortunately...
Taking a break from dieting may improve weight loss
Greater weight and fat loss were achieved with intermittent energy reduction, the randomised controlled Matador Study trials at the University of Tasmania show.
In the findings,...
Sleep deprivation in a controlled setting reduces depression symptoms
Sleep deprivation – typically administered in controlled, inpatient settings – rapidly reduces symptoms of depression in roughly half of depression patients, according the first...
Gut bacteria play decisive role in personal nutrition and obesity
Gut bacteria may play a decisive role in the weight regulation and weight loss, found a Danish study.
"Human intestinal bacteria have been linked to...
New recommendations on ARVs for pregnant women living with HIV
New recommendations on antiretroviral drugs for pregnant women living with HIV can help women make more informed choices about benefits and harms, says...
Better retention for HIV patients who have six-month clinic visits
Patients receiving care for HIV who were scheduled for clinic visits every six months were less likely to show up late, miss visits, have...
Steroids not effective for chest infections in non-asthmatic adults
Oral steroids should not be used for treating acute lower respiratory tract infection (or 'chest infections') in adults who don't have asthma or other...
CK-MB adds no value in evaluating patients with suspected heart attack.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Mayo Clinic have compiled peer-reviewed evidence and crafted a guideline designed to help...
Using money to buy time is linked with greater happiness
13Money spent on buying free time rather than material goods is linked with greater life satisfaction, but relatively few people, even among the wealthy,...
Continue statins despite adverse reactions – study
Statins are known to reduce the risk of death and cardiovascular events for people who are at high risk; however, as many as 75%...
GPs prescribing anticoagulants for AF against official safety advice
British GPs are at times prescribing anticoagulants to patients with atrial fibrillation against official safety advice. The study was carried out by researchers at...
Removal of Tamiflu from WHO Essential Medicines list comes 'far too late'
Mark Ebell, professor of epidemiology at the University of Georgia, outlines in an editorial, important lessons from the Tamiflu story.
Tamiflu (oseltamivir) was approved by...
Better outcomes with I&D plus antibiotics for simple skin abscesses
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria are resistant to multiple antibiotics and commonly cause skin infections that can lead to more serious or life-threatening infection...
Hormonal contraceptives can be safely combined with most ARVs
Women taking various forms of hormonal contraceptives can likely combine them safely with antiretrovirals (ARVs), whether as HIV treatment or in the form of...
Antibiotics not working in 22% patients with community-acquired pneumonia
Approximately one in four (22.1%) adults prescribed an antibiotic in an outpatient setting for community-acquired pneumonia does not respond to treatment, according to a...
Do painkillers rubbed on the skin really work?
There is good evidence that some formulations of topical analgesics are useful in acute pain conditions, with a 'strong message' that the exact formulation...
EpiPens are lasting long after expiration dates
The EpiPen auto-injector retained substantial epinephrine for years after their expiration dates in a small study from California, with more than half of pens...
Cystitis mostly caused by bacterial infection, even when tests are negative
Almost all women with typical urinary complaints and a negative culture nevertheless do have an infection with E. coli, found a University of Ghent...
Fit doctors more likely to have healthy patients
Doctors are being encouraged to get active‚ and to prescribe exercise to their patients on a script. The Times reports that this call has...
Lonely people prone to report more severe cold symptoms
Suffering through a cold is annoying enough, but if you’re lonely, you’re likely to feel even worse. US research indicated that people who feel...
Night-time urination increases with higher salt intake
The need to urinate at night, called nocturia – which affects most people over the age of 60 – is related to the amount...
Less rumination is positive in depression patients
Learning how to ruminate less on thoughts and feelings has a positive effect for individuals with depression, Norwegian research found.
A thought is a thought....
Lack of dialysis Tx in sub-Saharan Africa raises ethical questions
Up to one-fourth of adults in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from chronic kidney disease and only a small fraction ever reach a dialysis treatment centre,...
New WHO guidance on hormonal contraception for women at high HIV risk
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued an updated guidance statement on its recommendations for the use of hormonal contraception by women at high...
WHO updates guidelines for testing, diagnosis and treatment of Hepatitis B and C
The first World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on testing for chronic HBV and HCV infection have been released.
Testing and diagnosis of hepatitis B (HBV)...
New evidence-based treatment guidelines for lower back pain
The American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends in an evidence-based clinical practice guideline that physicians and patients should treat acute or subacute low back...
Turning smartphones into medical devices
It's just one of the niftiest things around. Describing the TYM smartphone otoscope in a News-Medical interview, Helene Viatge, business development project manager Cupris say,...
Long-lasting mental health is 'not normal' – New Zealand study
A small, poorly understood segment of the population stays mentally healthy from age 11 to 38, a Duke University longitudinal study of New Zealanders concluded. Everyone...