CANCER REFERRALS: DO FAST TRACK REFERRALS WORK???

BMJ 2007;335:267-268 (11 August)
Editorials
Fast track referral for cancer
Has not improved patient outcomes in the UK
BY: Moyez Jiwa, professor of primary care, Christobel Saunders, professor of surgical oncology
The current cancer referral policy in the UK—whereby patients with a given set of symptoms are seen within two weeks—results in more patients who have cancer being seen on [...]

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ANAESTHETISTS GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING VERY OBESE PATIENTS

BMJ 2007;335:275 (11 August).
Anaesthetists get new guidelines for morbidly obese patients
BY: Toby Reynolds
The rising number of morbidly obese people in the UK population has prompted anaesthetists to write new guidelines for managing these higher risk patients, emphasising the need for training and suitable equipment.
In England nearly 3% of women and 1% of men are [...]

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GETTING IT WRONG

One of the quotes of the week in August 2007 was:
“Getting it wrong, very wrong, is part of the process.”
This could be about anything medical basically, so if you want to find out what this author was on about, you have to go and look for yourself, as I couldn’t find it that quickly. BMJ [...]

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EU POSTPONES RESTRICTION TO USE MRI SCANS

EU postponed threathened restriction of using MRI scanners
Rory Watson, BMJ 2007;335:844-845
Medical specialists, patients’ groups, and European parliamentarians launched a campaign last week to ensure that new EU health and safety legislation will not restrict the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
The Alliance for MRI fears that new Europe-wide measures, which are
designed to protect employees , [...]

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PREDICTING MENTAL ILLNESS IN SOLDIERS PART THREE

BMJ 2006;333:1123 (25 November).
Letters
Predicting mental illness in soldiers
Pre-deployment screening for vulnerability to post- traumatic stress disorder
By: Ferhal Utku, Ken Checinski, senior lecturer in addictive behaviour
That post-traumatic stress disorder (and other mental disorders) are difficult to predict, with the implication that ex-service personnel are likely to present to civilian mental health services with such conditions.
Post-trauma debriefing [...]

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ENDOMETRIOSIS AND ITS DELAY IN DIAGNOSIS (IN GENERAL PRACTICE)

Management of endometriosis in general practice: the pathway to diagnosis By: Pugsley, Zoë

BJGP, Volume 57, Number 539, June 2007 , pp. 470-476(7).
Background: The prevalence of endometriosis is estimated to be around 10%. Diagnosis is through visualisation of the lesions, mostly via laparoscopy.
Ultrasound was frequently requested by GPs, but was helpful in diagnosing endometriosis in only [...]

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DOPING IN SPORT

BMJ 2007;335:618 (22 September).
Doping in sport—a warning from history.
East German athletes who were doped to win gold medals in 1976 Olympics now struggle with chronic health problems.
Sport is tough, mean, and uncompromising.
The German Democratic Republic looked coldly at what was required and did it. Potential medal winners were selected at an early age for [...]

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ANTIDEPRESSANTS IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

BMJ 2007;335:607 (22 September).
BMJ updates
Second generation antidepressants should remain an option for children and adolescents with depression or anxiety.
Are second generation antidepressants associated with suicidal ideation or suicide attempts in children and adolescents with depression or anxiety?
Answer Yes, but the risk is small and statistically non-significant. In general, the benefits of these agents outweigh the [...]

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POLLUTION CAUSES HEART PROBLEMS

BMJ 2007;335:587 (22 September).
Diesel pollution promotes myocardial ischaemia.
It is already clear that air pollution is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack, arrythmias, and even death. To investigate why, researchers from Europe did a controlled experiment on 20 men with stable coronary heart disease.
The men exercised on a bicycle ergometer [...]

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FERTILITY

THE MOST IMPORTANT DETERMINANT OF A COUPLE’S FERTILITY IS THE WOMAN’S AGE.
BMJ 22.9.07 quote of the week.

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