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Articles

Read the latest articles relevant to your clinical practice, including exclusive insights from Healthed surveys and polls.

By reading selected clinical articles, you earn CPD in the Educational Activities (EA) category whenever you click the “Claim CPD” button and follow the prompts. 

New research on countering superbugs
Ms Maria Cohut
  • Clinical Articles

New research on countering superbugs

Antibiotic resistance is by no means a new problem, but the latest CDC report into the phenomenon does outline some novel approaches to treating bacterial infection. The advice for slowing infections generally and resistance in particular will be familiar: vaccination, strict hygiene for medical facilities and personnel, and using antibiotics only when needed and for the shortest duration possible. The authors admit that these are only temporary measures however, especially given that some bacteria are now becoming resistant to disinfectants as well. Researchers are also working to develop new types of antibiotics to combat drug resistant bacteria, although most of these efforts are in the early stages. In the shorter term, research has indicated that using specific combinations of existing antibiotics can be effective where current therapies fail.

By Ms Maria Cohut
Preventing allergy
Dr Linda Calabresi
  • Clinical Articles

Preventing allergy

We all know that the previous avoidance strategy to prevent young children developing food allergies has been turned on its head. But out there in the real world, many new parents remain very nervous about feeding their six-month-old cooked egg or letting them taste peanut butter. As much as we would like to think a word of reassurance from their trusted GP is all that is needed, such reassurance is likely to carry much more weight if it is accompanied by a written resource from a reputable source. Enter the Prevent Allergies website. Among many other resources available on the site, there is a very succinct, definitive, printable brochure - entitled ‘Nip Allergies in the Bub’ - that clearly outlines the latest evidence-based information about what parents should be feeding their child and when with regard to lowering their risk of food allergies.

By Dr Linda Calabresi
shutterstock_276705851
Ms Alexandra Hansen
  • Clinical Articles

Is social media damaging to children and teens? We asked five experts

If you have kids, chances are you’ve worried about their presence on social media. Who are they talking to? What are they posting? Are they being bullied? Do they spend too much time on it? Do they realise their friends’ lives aren’t as good as they look on Instagram? We asked five experts if social media is damaging to children and teens.If you have kids, chances are you’ve worried about their presence on social media. Who are they talking to? What are they posting? Are they being bullied? Do they spend too much time on it? Do they realise their friends’ lives aren’t as good as they look on Instagram? We asked five experts if social media is damaging to children and teens.

By Ms Alexandra Hansen
Just Checking people with an intellectual disability
Dr Linda Calabresi
  • Clinical Articles

Just Checking people with an intellectual disability

It is well-documented that people with an intellectual disability are less likely than the general population to participate in the currently available cancer screening programs. This of course means they are needlessly at increased risk of dying from cervical, bowel or breast cancer. To address this disparity, Family Planning NSW has developed a new website called Just Checking, which aims to provide people with an intellectual disability the right support and information to help them engage with these screening programs.

By Dr Linda Calabresi
Vaping-related lung disease what you need to know
A/Prof Coral Gartner
  • Clinical Articles

Vaping-related lung disease: what you need to know

More than 2,000 people in the United States have developed serious lung damage in a poisoning outbreak associated with the use of vaping devices this year. At least 39 people have died from the condition. Most of those affected are young men. Their symptoms, which developed over a few days to several weeks, included cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, fever, chills, and weight loss. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently named this combination of symptoms – “e-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury”, or EVALI. Importantly, it has now implicated vitamin E acetate, an ingredient added to illicit cannabis vaping liquids, as the most likely cause of EVALI.

By A/Prof Coral Gartner, Prof Wayne Hall
Eating stodge makes you sluggish
Dr Linda Calabresi
  • Clinical Articles

Eating stodge makes you sluggish

Complaints of excessive daytime sleepiness would have most doctors reaching for their referral pad to send the patient to the nearest sleep lab. However Australian research suggests another, more readily modifiable lifestyle factor might be to blame. According to a large-scale epidemiological study, researchers from Flinders University determined a high intake of saturated fats and carbohydrates increases the risk of excessive daytime sleepiness. And it’s not simply because a diet of hot chips and thickshakes will cause weight gain, and obesity is a well-known risk factor for sleepiness. In this study, they compared fats, carbohydrates and protein calorie for calorie – so it wasn’t how much you ate, or how energy-dense your food was – it was, in fact, the type of food you ate.

By Dr Linda Calabresi
Help for kids with mental illness
Dr Linda Calabresi
  • Clinical Articles

Help for kids with mental illness

Kids Helpline has just launched a new mobile app for teenagers and young people with mental health issues. Called ‘niggle by Kids Helpline’, the new app aims to help young people identify any mental health concern or ‘niggle’. It has been designed to be used in conjunction with Kids Helpline’s existing services or as a stand-alone option for those people who may not have been willing or able to access help through traditional methods. The app provides, for free, hundreds of built-in resource and guided strategies that are all evidence-based.

By Dr Linda Calabresi
The problem with fertility apps
Jessica Grieger
  • Clinical Articles

The problem with fertility apps

In years gone by, women would rely on the calendar on the wall to work out when their next menstrual cycle might occur. They would look to physical signs to tell them when they might be ovulating, and therefore when they’d be most likely to fall pregnant. More recently, we’ve seen the proliferation of mobile phone applications helping women track their current cycle, predict their next cycle, and work out when the best time is to try for a baby. There are more than 400 fertility apps available, and over 100 million women worldwide are using them. The personalisation and convenience of apps makes them empowering and attractive. But they require some caution in their use.

By Jessica Grieger, Prof Robert Norman
Run for your life
Dr Linda Calabresi
  • Clinical Articles

Run for your life

As they say in the classics – run Forrest, run! New research shows people who run, regardless of how fast, how far or how often are likely to live longer than people who don’t. According to a systematic review and meta-analysis including 14 studies and over 230,000 participants, running as exercise was associated with a 27%, 30% and 23% reduced risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality, respectively.

By Dr Linda Calabresi
Miscarriages affect 1 in 6 pregnancies. We need better investigations and treatments
A/Prof Louise Hill
  • Clinical Articles

Miscarriages affect 1 in 6 pregnancies. We need better investigations and treatments

A miscarriage is a devastating event. Those who experience them are suddenly and unexpectedly robbed of the promise of new life and the dream of an expanded family. The emotional toll can be even greater if conception was delayed, or if fertility treatments were required to achieve a pregnancy. Many health providers have considered miscarriage as “nature’s way”, not fully acknowledging its emotional and psychological effects on those who have lost a pregnancy. Fortunately, this view is changing, and there is increasing advocacy for research into the causes, prevention and management of miscarriages. But there remains a long way to go.

By A/Prof Louise Hill
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Dr Linda Calabresi
  • Clinical Articles

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

It is very difficult to estimate the prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder among Australian children. This is partly due to fact that the manifestation of the disorder can be very varied and often subtle, and partly due to the fact that very few women will give a history of drinking alcohol in pregnancy. But the experts say, if we consider that at least 20% of Australians drink at risky levels and up to half of all pregnancies are unplanned, you’ve got to suspect there’s quite a large cohort of affected children out there, many of whom may be yet to be diagnosed. So … you might want to check out this resource – a Toolkit for parents, caregivers and families of children with this condition – put out by the NOFASD (National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders).

By Dr Linda Calabresi
Outlook for premmies pretty good
Dr Linda Calabresi
  • Clinical Articles

Outlook for premmies pretty good

The majority of babies born prematurely will make it to adulthood without any major health issues, according to new research. In an extensive Scandinavian cohort study, researchers found there was a high prevalence of survival without any major comorbidities among those born prematurely, even though preterm births are known to be associated with cardiometabolic, respiratory and neuropsychiatric disorders in adulthood. There was an exception however. Outcomes were worse for those born extremely preterm (22-27 weeks). The study is important, say its authors, as most previous research has concentrated on the negative consequences of the baby not making it to term.

By Dr Linda Calabresi

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