Clinical medicine (London, England)
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St George's Hospital hyperacute neurology service (HANS) is a comprehensive, consultant-delivered service set in a teaching hospital regional neuroscience centre. The service addresses deficiencies in acute neurological care previously highlighted by the Royal College of Physicians and the Association of British Neurologists. HANS adopts a disease-agnostic approach to acute neurology, prioritising the emergency department (ED) management of both stroke and stroke mimics alike alongside proactive daily support to the acute medical unit and acute medical take. ⋯ Admission was avoided in 25% of the cases reviewed in the ED. Compared to historic data, there was a significant improvement in the length of stay for non-stroke disorders while the occupancy of stroke beds by non-stroke cases reduced by 50%. The configuration of this service is replicable in other neuroscience centres and provides a framework to reduce the barriers facing patients who present with acute neurological symptoms.
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Of the 10 million incident cases of tuberculosis (TB) globally in 2017, around 558,000 cases were rifampicin-resistant of which 82% were multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB. In England, 5,102 cases were recorded of which 55 cases (1.8%) were MDR-TB. MDR-TB cases have worse outcomes and are a serious public health issue. ⋯ Treatment of MDR-TB remains a challenge as it relies on prolonged second-line drug treatments that are less effective and more toxic than first-line treatments. Two new drug treatments have been approved; bedaquiline and delamanid. In addition, a shorter treatment regimen of 9-12 months can be considered instead of the conventional 20-24 month regimen.
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Mortality data provided by the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme demonstrated the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) to have a higher than national average mortality ratio.1 In response to this, the RCHT stroke department undertook a mortality review of patients admitted with stroke making use of the Structured Judgement Review (SJR) process.2The review found all patients were deemed as receiving adequate, good or excellent care. There were no cases where death was deemed as definitely avoidable. ⋯ Focused areas for improvement derived from the review included improving compliance with local palliative care guides, improved documentation, links with primary care via Care Quality Commission atrial fibrillation group and consideration of improved scanning facilities. We also acknowledged wider unaccounted factors which may impact stroke mortality and thus influence perceived mortality ratios.