Issues
Volume 204 Issue 3
News
Multidisciplinary approach to reducing pharmaceutical misuse
Helping pharmacists and prescribers to work together
Lynn M Weekes
Editorials
Therapeutic advances and risk factor management: our best chance to tackle dementia?
An update on research advances in this field that may help tackle this growing challenge more effectively
Terence WH Chong MB BS, MP, FRANZCP · Samantha M Loi MB BS, FRANZCP, GradCertPOA · Nicola T Lautenschlager MD, FRANZCP · David Ames BA, MD, FRCPsych
Ebola and the WHO: a journey from toothless tiger to global dragon?
What does the WHO need to do to re-establish its reputation and pre-eminence in world health?
Sanjaya N Senanayake FRACP, MAppEpid, MB BS(Hons)
Perspectives
Non-reimbursement for preventable health care-acquired conditions
Not paying could harm patients, insurers and taxpayers
Christopher Davis MB ChB, MBA, FRACP
The value of consultant-led ward rounds for patient safety
Regular consultant-led ward rounds can improve safety and outcomes
E Leslie Bokey MS, FRACS, FRCS(Hon) · Pierre H Chapuis DS, FRACS · Owen F Dent MA, PhD
Lessons from Wales — how to embed sustainability and prevention in health care
Legislation and policy support step change for public services in tackling societal challenges sustainably
Ruth Hussey MB ChB, MSc, MD · Cathy Weatherup BA, CIM, MSc
Short reports
Uptake of novel oral anticoagulants in Australia
Concerns regarding efficacy and safety in real-world populations
Nicole L Pratt PhD · Emmae N Ramsay BSc, GradDipAppStats, MClinEpi · Gillian E Caughey PhD · Sepehr Shakib MB BS, FRACP, PhD · Elizabeth E Roughead BPharm, MAppSc, PhD
Pitfalls in photographing radiological images from computer screens
Caution is required in using mobile phone images in clinical practice
Jarrel Seah · Andrew D Nichols MB BS · Philip M Lewis PhD, BAppSc · Jeffrey V Rosenfeld MD, FRACS, FAHMS
Case reports
The early bird and the worm: a case of cercarial dermatitis
A common but under-recognised condition
John W Frew MB BS(Hons), MMed(Clin Epi) · Christopher JA Henderson BSc, MB BS, FRCPA · Ian D McCrossin MB BS, FACD, FACSHP
Shiitake dermatitis: the tale of an under-recognised, undercooked fungus
Patients should avoid shiitake or ensure it has been cooked at 150°C or greater
Ashling McNally MB BS, BPhysio · Christopher Ross BM BS · Jeffrey Wayte MB BS, FACD
A rare cause of intrathoracic mass
Malpositioning of the kidneys and renal ectopia are rare causes of intrathoracic mass
David R Darley MB BS, BSc(Hons) · Deborah H Yates MSc, FRACP, FRCP
Massive subdural haematoma and dementia: a “yin and yang” paradigm
Two interdependent entities giving rise to each other
Pietro Maggi MD, PhD · Jean Christophe Bier MD · Sandra De Breucker MD
Clinical focus
Novel insights, challenges and practical implications of DOHaD-omics research
Our data-rich environment and advanced -omics technology are revolutionising physiological research
Nicolette A Hodyl BSc, PhD, GradCert(Biostat) · Beverly Muhlhausler BSc, PhD
Research
Factors contributing to frequent attendance to the emergency department of a remote Northern Territory hospital
The study confirms previous international research documenting the association between frequent attendance and homelessness
Simon Quilty FRACP, MPhilPH, MB BS · Geordan Shannon BMed, MPH, DRANZCOG · Anthony Yao MB BS, BMedSc(Hons) · William Sargent MB ChB, FACEM, FCEM(UK) · Michael F McVeigh MB BS
Socio-demographic and structural barriers to being tested for chlamydia in general practice
About one in five young people did not submit a specimen for testing despite a GP request
Andrew Lau MSc · Simone Spark BSc(Hons), MPH, PhD · Jane Tomnay PhD, MHSc, RN · Meredith Temple-Smith BSc, MPH, DHSc · Christopher K Fairley PhD, FAFPHM, MB BS · Rebecca J Guy PhD, MAppEpid · Basil Donovan MB BS, MD, FAFPHM · Jane S Hocking PhD, MPH, BAppSc
Acute heart failure admissions in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory: the NSW HF Snapshot Study
The snapshot will inform the development of strategies that improve the outcomes for heart failure patients
Phillip J Newton RN, PhD · Patricia M Davidson RN, PhD · Christopher M Reid PhD · Henry Krum* MB BS, PhD, FRACP · Christopher Hayward MD · David W Sibbritt PhD · Emily Banks MB BS, PhD, FAFPHM · Peter S MacDonald MB BS, FRACP, PhD
Emergency department presentations with mammalian bite injuries: risk factors for admission and surgery
Further analysis of surgical findings in patients who have sustained bite injuries is needed
Jeannette WC Ting MB BS, MS, DipAnat · Brian Yin Ting Yue MB BS, BMedSci, DipAnat · Howard Ho Fung Tang MB BS, BMedSci(Hons) · Alexandra Rizzitelli PhD · Ramin Shayan MB BS, PhD, FRACS(Plast) · Frank Raiola MB BS, FRACS (Plast) · Warren M Rozen MD, PhD, FRACS(Plast) · David Hunter-Smith MB BS, MPH, FRACS(Plast)
Systematic review
Statins and tendinopathy: a systematic review
There is a paucity of evidence to implicate statin therapy as a well established risk factor or causal mechanism for tendon rupture in the general population
Andrew J Teichtahl MB BS(Hons), FRACP, PhD · Sharmayne RE Brady MB BS(Hons), BMedSc(Hons), FRACP · Donna M Urquhart BPhysio, PhD · Anita E Wluka MB BS, FRACP, PhD · Yuanyuan Wang MB BS, MD, PhD · Jonathan E Shaw MB ChB, MD, FRACP · Flavia M Cicuttini MB BS, FRACP, PhD
Reflections
Vladimir Albert Lovric, MB BS, FRCPA, DipClinPath, GradDipPH, FRCPath, FRACP
Vladimir Lovric was a pioneering haematologist
Michelle Lovric
A good nanny makes a difference
The health gap: the challenge of an unequal world, by Michael Marmot
Jackie M Street PhD, BSc(Hons), GradDipPrimaryHealthCare
Assessing and treating functional disorders
Functional disorders and medically unexplained symptoms: assessment and treatment, Per Fink and Marianne Rosendal, editors
Catherine Yelland MB BS, FRACP
Careers
Elite company
From small-town general practitioners to World Health Organization directors, Australian medical professionals led the way in the Australia Day Honours list
Cate Swannell
Around the universities
Emeritus Professor Alan Lopez, from the University of Melbourne, has been named among the top 10 most influential academics worldwide, in a new analysis of thousands of academic papers by Thomson-Reuters. The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds 2015 report is based on the number of cited research papers an academic published from 2003 to 2013. The report also includes a ranking of the “hottest researchers”, whose recently published papers were cited at extraordinarily high levels over a short period of time. Professor Alan Lopez, who directs the Global Burden of Disease group of researchers in the School of Population and Global Health within the University’s Medicine, Health and Dentistry Sciences Faculty, was ranked ninth in the world on this list, the only Australian to feature. He published 16 highly-cited papers between 2013 and 2014. Overall, Australia ranked fifth, behind the US, UK, Germany and China with 103 highly-cited researchers. The University of California System in the US was the leading university represented with 160 highly cited researchers, followed by Harvard University. The Australian medical researchers named in the report include Professor John Mattick (Garvan Institute); Professor Richard Simpson (La Trobe University); Professor Rinaldo Bellomo (Monash University); Professor John Forbes (University of Newcastle); Professor Timothy Hughes (University of Adelaide); Professor Henry Krum (Monash University), Professor Stephen McMahon (University of Sydney); Professor Bruce Neal (University of Sydney), Professor Mark Woodward (University of Sydney); Professor Paul Zimmet (Baker IDI); Professor Mark Smythe (QIMR); Professor Matthew Brown (University of Queensland); Professor David Evans (University of Queensland); Professor Nicholas Martin (QIMR); Professor Grant Montgomery (University of Queensland); Professor Peter Visscher (University of Queensland); Professor Ashley Bush (University of Melbourne); Professor Colin Masters (University of Melbourne); Professor Michael Berk (Deakin University); Professor Patrick McGorry (University of Melbourne); Professor Christos Pantelis (University of Melbourne); and, Professor Murat Yucel (Monash University). http://images.info.science.thomsonreuters.biz/Web/ThomsonReutersScience/%7B37a987a9-e378-4888-8baa-d4ba20efdbfd%7D_tr_scientific_minds_online_final.pdf http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/laureate-professor-alan-lopez-only-australian-top-10-hottest-scientists-list Researchers from the Doherty Institute have collectively been awarded over half a million dollars in RMH Home Lottery Grants, including two at the highest level of funding available as part of the program. Professor Elizabeth Vincan, deputy section head of Molecular Microbiology and head of the Molecular Oncology Laboratory, along with Dr Toby Phesse who recently joined the Doherty Institute, received a $240 000 Project Grant for their study Mini-liver organoids, an innovative tool to understand oncogenic Wnt signalling and HBV infection. This project brings together an international team of scientists to establish tissue and tumour organoids — miniature organs grown in vitro — as tools for research and diagnostic purposes. Associate Professor Ben Cowie, Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis, was the recipient of $228 000 for his project titled Liver cancer prevention: linking viral hepatitis diagnosis, treatment and outcomes. Doctors Karen Laurie and Sheena Sullivan, both from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, were each awarded $25 000 Grants in Aid for studies on respiratory syncytial virus and influenza vaccination in health care workers respectively, while PhD student, Dustin Flanagan also received a $25 000 Early Career Researcher grant to study a novel therapy for gastric cancer. http://www.doherty.edu.au/news-events/news/half-a-million-in-rmh-home-lottery-grants-awarded-to-doherty-institute-researchers Bond University’s medical program is offering a new curriculum to medical students in 2016, retaining its status as the fastest pathway available to graduate as an intern eligible to practice medicine in Australia or New Zealand. The Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine has transitioned its medical program from the former double undergraduate degree to a sequential Bachelors/Masters program, meaning the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB BS) will become a Bachelor of Medical Studies/Doctor of Medicine (MD) for new applicants enrolling from May 2016. The updated curriculum commenced on 11 January 2016, for current Bond medical students returning for their second, third and fourth year of the Medical program who will also graduate with an MD. Professor Peter Jones, Dean of Medicine at Bond University, said the move to the MD would reward Bond students with the level of qualification they deserved after the completion of an intense 14 semester medical program. https://bond.edu.au/news/47509/bond-medical-program-offer-cutting-edge-curriculum Professor Sandy Heriot, Director of Cancer Surgery at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, has been awarded the 2016 John Mitchell Crouch Fellowship — the Royal Australian College of Surgeons’ most prestigious research award. The Fellowship was first awarded in 1979 to recognise Fellows of the College making an outstanding contribution to cutting-edge surgical advancement and scientific research. Past recipients include Professor Graham Milbourne Clark, who developed cochlear implants, and Professor Graham Hill. Professor Heriot specialises in the multi-disciplinary management of lower gastrointestinal cancer. On the clinical side this includes assessment of outcomes of multimodality therapy, molecular imaging, quality of life studies, and banking of tumour tissue. Across the laboratory side it includes genomics (RNA and DNA sequencing), analysis of molecular markers and generation of human tumour xenografts. http://www.petermac.org/news/professor-sandy-heriot-awarded-2016-john-mitchell-crouch-fellowship The Doherty Institute has welcomed Dr Deborah Williamson to the role of deputy director of the Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory. Born and bred in Scotland, Deborah’s most recent role was as a Clinical Microbiologist at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) in Wellington, New Zealand. Deborah completed a science degree and attended medical school in Glasgow before moving to London where she conducted her postgraduate training at St Mary’s Hospital and Imperial College. She then moved to Auckland in 2007 to train in microbiology and completed her PhD at the University of Auckland. http://www.doherty.edu.au/news-events/news/deborah-williamson-appointed-deputy-director-of-the-microbiological-diagnostic-unit
Cate Swannell
News briefs
Cate Swannell
“Ice” (crystal methamphetamine): concerns and responses
Margaret Hamilton BA, DipSocStuds, MSW · Adrian J Dunlop MB BS, PhD, FAChAM
Alcohol and other drug treatment policy in Australia
Alison Ritter PhD, MA(ClinPsych), BA(Hons) · Mark Stoove PhD, GradDip(Ed), BAppSc(Hons)
ADHD and psychostimulants — overdiagnosis and overprescription
Adrian J Dunlop PhD, GradDipEpiBiostat, FAChAM · Louise K Newman BA(Hons), MB BS(Hons), FRANZCP
Not just loading and age: the dynamics of osteoarthritis, obesity and inflammation
Flavia M Cicuttini MSc, FRACP, PhD · Anita E Wluka MB BS, FRACP, PhD
Asbestos exposure: challenges for Australian clinicians
Arthur W (Bill) Musk MD, FRACP, FAFOEM · Nicholas H de Klerk PhD · Anna K Nowak MB BS, FRACP, PhD
Malaria detection using breath biomarkers
Amalia Z Berna · James S McCarthy · Stephen C Trowell
News briefs
Cate Swannell