Anticholinergic medicines linked to cardiovascular events in older adults
Polypharmacy is prevalent among older adults aged ≥65 years and often leads to unintended clinical…
Author: British Medical Journal
Future-case control crossover analysis for adjusting bias in case crossover studies
Overview of case crossover designThe case crossover study is a self-controlled, outcome anchored design to…
Association between recently raised anticholinergic burden and risk of acute cardiovascular events: nationwide case-case-time-control study
AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate the association between recently raised anticholinergic burden and risk of acute cardiovascular events…
Sharp Scratch episode 90: Sharing is caring
In this episode of Sharp Scratch, we talk all about doctor self-disclosure with an emphasis…
Seven in 10 GPs see rise in patients seeking help to deal with cost of living crisis, warns RCGP
GPs are seeing a “worrying” rise in the number of patients presenting with problems associated…
US doctors told to steer clear of “grateful patient” hospital fundraising because of ethical concerns
Doctors in the US have been advised to avoid engaging in fundraising with their patients…
NHS has rescheduled one million hospital appointments this year because of strike action
More than a million NHS hospital appointments have now been postponed this year in England…
John Launer: Thinking the unthinkable on Lucy Letby
The psychiatrist John Bowlby once wrote a paper called On Knowing What You Are Not…
Helen Salisbury: Advice and guidance for all referrals
This week I read a report in the Health Service Journal about a baffling plan…
All out: England’s doctors take first ȷoint strike action
bmj;382/sep26_4/p2219/FAF1faMark ThomasIn their first joint industrial action, consultants and junior doctors in England began a…
How Botswana discovered the omicron variant
It was a day like any other—albeit at the height of a global pandemic. Monkgomotsi…
What should I do if I am sexually assaulted at work?
Put yourself firstBecky Cox, co-founder of Surviving in Scrubs, says, “There is no right or…
Coroner alerts health secretary to another case where second opinion could have prevented child’s death
The senior coroner who presided over Martha Mills’s inquest1 has alerted the health and social…
Some police have stopped answering mental health calls, with no alternative support in place, experts warn
Police forces in parts of the UK have stopped answering urgent calls related to mental…
Emergency medicine: Government’s plan won’t avert crisis this winter, leader warns
Hospitals could see ambulances queuing outside emergency departments and patients lined up in beds in…
Time to ban the word “prevention”
Few phrases are better known than “prevention is better than cure,” and its message seems…
Universal health coverage: ensuring that nobody is left behind
Delegates met last week at the United Nations high level meeting on universal health coverage…
Engaging the public in digital health
Salisbury outlines the problems around data sharing in the NHS.1 When I was a Caldicott…
Continuing disquiet on the data front: involve your local Caldicott guardian
I share the concerns expressed by Salisbury about the poor track record of large NHS…
Biden establishes top level office to reduce gun violence “to send a clear message to the country”
US President Joe Biden has announced that he is establishing the first White House Office…
How mobile clinics are helping those affected by Canada’s wildfires
“They tried everything. I just stood there and told him that I loved him and…
Efficacy and safety of an inactivated virus-particle vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, BIV1-CovIran: randomised, placebo controlled, double blind, multicentre, phase 3 clinical trial
In this paper by Mohraz and colleagues (BMJ 2023;382:e070464, doi:10.1136/bmj.e070464, published 21 September 2023), the…
James Howard Swallow
bmj;382/sep22_10/p2151/FAF1faJames Howard Swallow (“Jim”) was born in Yorkshire. He went up to Queens’ College in…
Ending communicable diseases requires a combined elimination framework
At three high level meetings of the United Nations General Assembly this week, world leaders…
Kar Hao Teoh: talented foot and ankle surgeon killed in South Africa
bmj;382/sep22_8/p2190/FAF1faKar Hao Teoh, who was killed in South Africa at the age of 40, was…
Winter planning: tackle workforce strain in urgent and emergency care
Iacobucci’s article highlights NHS plans to prepare for the winter and tackle urgent and emergency…
Locum emergency consultant is struck off for series of missed diagnoses
A locum consultant in emergency medicine has been struck off the UK medical register for…
World leaders commit to greater collaboration over future pandemics
World leaders committed to making the world better prepared for a future pandemic on 20…
Taking a collateral history: the missing piece of the puzzle
What you need to knowA collateral history can include information about the patient’s physical and…
Health MOTs: consider reference change values
In their article Buss and colleagues state: “Furthermore, many common tests, such as serum lipids,…
Maternity care: Leicester services are downgraded for understaffing and risky triage delays
Understaffing and triage delays that led patients to give up waiting and discharge themselves have…
Congenital syphilis: Public health failures are blamed for “alarming” increase in cases in Mississippi
The southern US state of Mississippi reported a 1000% increase in cases of congenital syphilis…
The BMJ’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2040
The 2023 synthesis report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change leaves no doubt about…
Scabies: UK treatment shortage poses public health threat, warn dermatologists
Manufacturers of scabies treatments are being urged to increase production by the British Association of…
Sharp Scratch episode 89: What’s in a name?
In this episode of Sharp Scratch we talk all about names. We discuss the nuances…
Legally blocked: the right to health
Are covid and long covid occupational diseases? The testimonies of health professionals who work long…
Proximally white and distally pink nails
A man in his 60s presented with a six month history of fingernail discoloration. The…
Treating appendicitis . . . and other stories
Long term outcomes of medically treated acute appendicitisA follow-up study of a Swedish trial that…
Health secretary is “still misleading public” about doctors’ pensions and pay, says BMA
The BMA has accused England’s secretary of state for health and social care, Steve Barclay,…
Seven days in medicine: 13-19 September 2023
InsomniaDraft guidance advises new treatment optionThe National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended…
Video consultations are here to stay
Helen Salisbury, 29 JulySalisbury voices her disappointment with video consultations in general practice.1 In my…
What do different countries call junior doctors?
bmj;382/sep20_10/p2130/FAF1faAt the BMA annual meeting in July, the then foundation year 1 doctor Sai Pillarisetti…
Royal college president apologises to female surgeons for “misguided” comments that undermined diversity agenda
The president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England has apologised for “gaslighting” female…
SAS doctors to be balloted on whether to strike over pay
Specialist, associate specialist, and specialty (SAS) doctors in England are to be balloted on whether…
More than half the world’s population lack basic health services as progress stalls
Progress towards providing the world with universal healthcare is stagnating and more than half of…
Patients in more deprived areas of Scotland get less contact time with GP staff, study finds
Patients attending general practices in more socioeconomically deprived areas of Scotland get significantly less contact…
Sudan’s worsening health conditions see children die of measles and malnutrition
A lack of global attention on the crisis in Sudan is leading to the deaths…
Scarlett McNally: Challenging the government’s new strategic framework for maȷor conditions
The Department of Health and Social Care’s new Major Conditions Strategy1 starts strongly, detailing how…
Looking but not seeing
I have AMD, which means I have a hole in each eye that takes away…
Hypertension: 76 million deaths could be averted by 2050 if treatment coverage improves, says WHO
Around four in five people with hypertension are not adequately treated, the World Health Organization…