Clinical medicine (London, England)
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The protracted form of COVID-19 known as 'long covid' was first described in 2020. Its symptoms, course and prognosis vary widely; some patients have a multi-system, disabling and prolonged illness. In 2021, ring-fenced funding was provided to establish 90 long covid clinics in England; some clinics were also established in Scotland and Wales. ⋯ The goal of successive quality improvement cycles aimed at changing practice to align with evidence was sometimes hard to achieve because definitive evidence did not yet exist in this new condition; many patients had comorbidities; and clinics were practically constrained in various ways. Nevertheless, much progress was made and a series of 'best practice' guides was produced, covering general assessment and management; breathing difficulties; orthostatic tachycardia and other autonomic symptoms; fatigue and cognitive impairment; and vocational rehabilitation. This paper summarises key findings with the frontline clinician in mind.
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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects over 10% of the global population. One crucial complication of CKD is secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT), marked by elevated parathyroid hormone levels due to hyperphosphataemia, hypocalcaemia, and low active vitamin D from impaired renal function. SHPT increases risks of bone deformities, vascular calcification, cardiovascular events and mortality. ⋯ PTX effectively reduces symptoms and improves radiological outcomes, outperforming medical treatment alone in reducing cardiovascular risk and mortality. Thermal ablation techniques, such as microwave, radiofrequency, laser or high-intensity focused ultrasound, offer less invasive alternatives with promising results. Future research should explore the molecular mechanisms of parathyroid gland hyperplasia and evaluate various treatments' impacts.
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Primary brain tumours are rare but carry a significant morbidity and mortality burden. Malignant gliomas are the most common subtype and their incidence is increasing within our ageing population. ⋯ Increasing the awareness of malignant gliomas among general physicians is paramount to delivering prompt radiological and histopathological diagnoses, facilitating access to earlier and individualised treatment options and allows for effective recognition and management of anticipated complications. This article discusses evidence-based real-world practice for malignant gliomas, encompassing patient presentation, diagnostic pathways, treatments and their complications, and prognosis to guide management outside of specialist centres.
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Pancytopenia is an uncommon abnormality detected on a full blood count. Features of presentation tend to be non-specific, and are due to impaired functions of the cell lines involved. ⋯ However, the aetiology of pancytopenia is extensive. This narrative review aims to provide a minimally invasive diagnostic algorithm for generalist clinicians to approach pancytopenia, including investigations into the underlying aetiology, and when a referral to the haematologist is warranted for further investigations such as bone marrow aspiration and trephine biopsy.
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Reproducible and standardised neurological assessment scales are important in quantifying research outcomes. These scales are often performed by non-neurologists and/or non-clinicians and must be robust, quantifiable, reproducible and comparable to a neurologist's assessment. ⋯ We investigated the strengths and weaknesses of the NIS when used by non-neurology clinicians and non-clinicians, and compared performance to a structured neurological examination performed by a neurology clinician. Through our findings, we provide practical advice on how non-clinicians can be readily trained in conducting reproducible and standardised neurological assessments in a multi-centre study, as well as illustrating potential pitfalls of these tools.