Editor's Choice | This Week in BMJ | Press releases
BMJ No 7104 Volume 315 Press Releases Saturday 9 August 1997 Embargoed: 00.01 Hrs 8 August 1997 UK time
Local treatment best for ventilator dependent children
Children who need long term ventilator treatment for spinal injury or serious lung disease but who are interactive should not remain in intensive care units, says a paper in this week's BMJ. The authors questioned the medical directors of all 24 paediatric intensive care units in England and Scotland about the numbers of children who still needed mechanical support to breathe after three months. They found that eighteen children were dependent on ventilators in eight units. a total of around 12% of all available beds. If treatment at home or in a local hospital is not possible, say the authors, facilities such as community rehabilitation centres or hospital-based long term ventilation units should be available. This would not only release beds for emergency paediatric admissions, but also provide a better and more home-like environment for ventilation dependent children who are not in need of emergency care.
Contact:
Hospital for Sick Children
Tel: 0171 813 8213
Prescribing antibiotics for sore throat has only marginal benefit and often encourages patients to seek unnecessary medical care in future episodes, says a paper in this week's BMJ. In a randomised trial of three approaches to sore throat - a 10 day prescription of antibiotics, no antibiotics, and a delayed prescription if the sore throat had not begun to improve after three days - the authors found that, although there was no difference between the three groups in the incidence of complications, those patients who had taken antibiotics were more likely to return to the surgery the next time they had a sore throat. Consultations for respiratory conditions in British general practice have increased by 14% in 10 years, say the authors. Since the incidence of sore throat does not appear to have changed, factors such as patient expectations and doctors' attitudes may provide an explanation. The author suggests that if GPs want to reduce unnecessary attendance in the future, they should tell patients that the average duration of a sore throat is five days after consultation and that almost 40% of people have a sore throat for longer than this.
Contact:
Aldermoor Health Centre
Tel: 01703 79 7700
While we should applaud the government in its serious attempt to tackle the growing national and international drug problem, a vote-catching 'battle against drugs' led by the new drug 'czar' would pose grave dangers, says an editorial in this week's BMJ by Professor John Strang, Director of the National Addiction Centre and his colleagues. What is needed, say the authors, is a move away from the increasing emphasis on the criminal aspect of the problem in favour of improvements in evidence-based treatments, where there is now good evidence of a number of benefits. 'With prisons already bursting with new inmates on remand or sentence for addiction-fuelled crime, it would be criminal negligence to spend yet more on control whilst demand for treatment still far outstrips capacity'. Three messages should be pinned above the new czar's desk, they say. There should be clarity about the objectives of the new drug strategy, with reduction of damage to individuals and society as the guiding light; a wide review of effective strategy formation, not just in the field of drugs but in such areas as alcohol and tobacco policy; and the pursuit of policies not for their political or professional popularity but according to the quality of evidence of their individual and public benefit. Contact: National Addiction Centre Tel: 0171 919 3438 Fax: 0171 919 3426
Embargoed: 00.01 Hrs 8 August 1997 UK time
Please contact Public Affairs Division for the text of the paper & the authors for further comment For further information, please contact:
Linda Millington on 0171 383 6473
or telephone (8.30am -
6.00pm): 0171 383 6254 Or fax requests to Public Affairs Division, BMA on 0171 383 6403. If you currently receive your British Medical Journal press release by mail and you would like it faxed to you please telephone (0)171 383 6123, Fax: (0)171 554 6123 or E-mail: LRiviere@mail.bma.org.uk When dialling the UK from abroad, remember to delete the first zero from the local area code, eg, (00 44) 171... BMA on Internet page: http://www.bma.org.uk Please ensure you quote the British Medical Journal when publicising an article
Home | Current issue | Past issues | Classified ads | Career Focus | Feedback Collections | About this site | About the BMJ | BMA | Medline
|