Latest posts

A March 2021 update on RECOVERY's initial colchicine results in hospitalised patients with COVID-19. It reports the lack of a mortality benefit announced at the time, distinguishes these patients from community cases and notes that the full paper was still awaited.

Can a Dutch prediction model improve prehospital major trauma triage in the UK? Tom Shanahan explains its retrospective external validation, the tradeoff between missed major trauma and over-triage, and why prospective testing and practical evaluation are needed before implementation.

Dan Horner takes a detailed look at the February 2021 RECOVERY tocilizumab preprint. The appraisal examines reported survival benefits alongside patient selection, incomplete follow-up, absolute versus relative effects and the uncertainties that remained behind the optimistic headlines.

Does topical tranexamic acid reduce the need for nasal packing when initial epistaxis treatment has failed? This 2021 appraisal of the NoPAC trial examines its negative result, the importance of preceding first aid and vasoconstrictors, and limits to generalising across different types of bleeding.

Iain and Simon's January 2021 round-up brings together clinical evidence, education and staff wellbeing. The linked notes include Ludwig's angina, oxygen targets, moral injury, self-leadership and the evolving evidence on COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.

How do patients want clinicians to explain COVID-19 tests, uncertainty and the possibility of dying? In this February 2021 podcast, Rick Body speaks with patient representatives Graham Prestwich and Val Tate about communication through PPE and what matters to patients and families.