How do mental health professionals conceptualise the association between their spiritual beliefs and their work? Themes collated from semi-structured interviews included the conflict between science and religion, the personal support that faith provides for many, and the idea that beliefs made professionals better at their job by reconciling differences between science and religion and by allowing them to recognise compatibilities between seeking meaning and subjective experience. Most participants welcomed the opportunity to express and discuss this interface, but were concerned how it would be perceived (The Psychiatrist 2012;36:249-54, doi:10.1192/pb.bp.111.036954).

Are prolonged fevers more dangerous than short lived fevers for critically ill patients? No, a French study concluded—researchers found similar mortality rates between the two fever groups (Critical Care 2012; 16:R150, doi:10.1186/cc11465). The team says that prolonged fevers are common and are mainly due to severe infections (especially ventilator associated pneumonia), but mixed infectious causes are also frequent and suggest the need for a careful search for multiple causes. Independent risk factors for prolonged fevers included cerebral injury at admission, severe sepsis, the number of infections, and extended periods of mechanical ventilation.

Older patients are under-represented in clinical trials but it is unclear why. In an analysis …