Four simple tests could help GPs spot pneumonia and reduce unnecessary antibiotics
Testing for fever, high pulse rate, crackly breath sounds, and low oxygen levels could be key to helping GPs distinguish pneumonia from less serious infections, according to a large study published in the European Respiratory Journal [1].
Pneumonia: Treatment with Vaccines instead of Antibiotics
Mycoplasma bacteria are one of the most common causes of bacterial pneumonia in children.
Maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels may help to prevent rheumatoid arthritis
Maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels may help to prevent the onset of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, research led by the University of Birmingham has discovered.
Blue lighting is scientifically proven to help us relax faster than white lighting after an argument
Researchers from the University of Granada say that blue light accelerates the relaxation process after acute psychosocial stress such as arguing with a friend or when someone pressures you to quickly finish some task Researchers from the University of Granada (UGR), in collaboration with the…
Dog ownership linked to lower mortality
A team of Swedish scientists have used national registries of more than 3.4 million Swedes aged 40 to 80 to study the association between dog ownership and cardiovascular health. Their study shows that dog owners had a lower risk of death due to cardiovascular disease…
Single men “less likely” to participate in bowel screening
Single men are significantly less likely to participate in bowel screening tests compared to those who live with a partner, according to a new University of Stirling study.
Common shoulder surgery may offer no additional benefit in reducing shoulder pain
Decompression surgery does not reduce shoulder pain any more than placebo surgery for people with shoulder impingement – when the tendon rubs and catches in the joint, according to the first placebo-controlled trial in shoulder surgery published in The Lancet.
Study finds that heart failure is more fatal in patients with type 2 diabetes
A new study has found that heart failure patients with pre-existing type 2 diabetes have higher hospitalisation and death rates, but that keeping blood sugars balanced can help lower the risk almost to that of heart failure patients without diabetes.The study, led by Keele University…
An unusual cause of genital swelling
R Corso, *P Ellul, M J Boffa; Department of Dermatology, Sir Paul Boffa Hospital, Malta & *Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Mater Dei Hospital, Malta
Watch the spider!
M Cachia, L Mercieca, *C Mallia Azzopardi, M J Boffa; Department of Dermatology, Sir Paul Boffa Hospital, Malta &*Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Mater Dei Hospital, Malta
A study of acne antibiotic resistance in Malta
L Mercieca, *J Cefai, D Micallef, *P Caruana, E Clark, M J Boffa, L Scerri, S Aquilina; Department of Dermatology, Sir Paul Boffa Hospital, Malta & *Department of Microbiology, Mater Dei Hospital, Malta
The re-emergence of lymphogranuloma venereum in Europe, a Maltese case
K Muscat, V Padovese, Genito-Urinary Medicine Clinic, Mater Dei Hospital, Malta