Article Types
Research
Polypharmacy among older Australians, 2006–2017: a population‐based study
The prevalence of polypharmacy among older Australians is relatively high and increasing as the population ages
Amy T Page · Michael O Falster · Melisa Litchfield · Sallie‐Anne Pearson · Christopher Etherton‐Beer
Getting it Right: validating a culturally specific screening tool for depression (aPHQ‐9) in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
We have an evidence-based tool for screening for depression in Indigenous Australians
The Getting it Right Collaborative Group
Reduced VRE and MRSA colonisation and infection following sustained reduction in broad spectrum antibiotic use in a large tertiary hospital
Reducing broad spectrum antibiotic use was associated with reduced VRE transmission and infection
John K Ferguson · Sally A Munnoch · Kristi Kozierowski · Simon Chiu · Christopher Oldmeadow
HPV vaccination coverage and course completion rates for Indigenous Australian adolescents, 2015
Improving completion rates for Indigenous Australian women are needed to end their higher burden of cervical cancer
Julia ML Brotherton · Karen L Winch · Genevieve Chappell · Carolyn Banks · Dennis Meijer · Sonya Ennis · Karen Peterson · Rosalind Webby · Lisa J Whop
The EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire for cancer patients (QLQ‐C30): Australian general population reference values
Australian reference values provide benchmarks for assessing the impact of disease and treatment on Australians with cancer
Rebecca Mercieca‐Bebber · Daniel SJ Costa · Richard Norman · Monika Janda · David P Smith · Peter Grimison · Eva‐Marie Gamper · Madeleine T King
Routine cervical screening by primary HPV testing: early findings in the renewed National Cervical Screening Program
The renewed program is performing as expected during the initial HPV screening round
Dorothy A Machalek · Jennifer M Roberts · Suzanne M Garland · Julia Thurloe · Adele Richards · Ian Chambers · Terri Sivertsen · Annabelle Farnsworth
Trauma‐related admissions to intensive care units in Australia: the influence of Indigenous status on outcomes
Objectives: To investigate the admission characteristics and hospital outcomes for Indigenous and non‐Indigenous patients admitted to intensive units (ICUs) after major trauma. Design, setting: Retrospective analysis of Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) Adult Patient Database data from 92 Australian ICUs for the 6‐year period, 2010–2015. Participants: Patients older than 17 years of age admitted to public hospital ICUs with a primary diagnosis of trauma. Main outcome measures: ICU and overall hospital lengths of stay, hospital discharge destination, and ICU and overall hospital mortality rates for Indigenous and non‐Indigenous patients. Results: 23 804 people were admitted to Australian public hospital ICUs after major trauma; 1754 (7.4%) were Indigenous Australians. The population‐standardised incidence of admissions was consistently higher for Indigenous Australians than for non‐Indigenous Australians (847 per million v 251 per million population; incidence ratio, 3.37; 95% CI, 3.19–3.57). Overall hospital mortality rates were similar for Indigenous and non‐Indigenous patients (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.04; 95% CI, 0.82–1.31). Indigenous patients were more likely than non‐Indigenous patients to be discharged to another hospital (non‐Indigenous v Indigenous: aOR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.72–0.96) less likely to be discharged home (non‐Indigenous v Indigenous: aOR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.04–1.31). Conclusion: The population rate of trauma‐related ICU admissions was substantially higher for Indigenous than non‐Indigenous patients, but hospital mortality rates after ICU admission were similar. Indigenous patients were more likely to be discharged to a another hospital and less likely to be discharged home than non‐Indigenous patients.
Fraser Magee · Anthony Wilson · Michael J Bailey · David Pilcher · Paul J Secombe · Paul Young · Rinaldo Bellomo
Detecting sleep apnoea syndrome in primary care with screening questionnaires and the Epworth sleepiness scale
A flexible balance between sensitivity and specificity can be achieved with a combination of screening tools
Chamara V Senaratna · Jennifer L Perret · Adrian Lowe · Gayan Bowatte · Michael J Abramson · Bruce Thompson · Caroline Lodge · Melissa Russell · Garun S Hamilton · Shyamali C Dharmage
Respiratory syncytial virus‐associated hospitalisations in Australia, 2006–2015
National population-level analysis provides valuable insights into severe RSV-associated disease
Gemma L Saravanos · Meru Sheel · Nusrat Homaira · Aditi Dey · Edward Brown · Han Wang · Kristine Macartney · Nicholas J Wood
Slower increase in life expectancy in Australia than in other high income countries: the contributions of age and cause of death
Improving control of health risk factors will be required for further substantial life expectancy increases
Alan D Lopez · Tim Adair
Traumatic spinal cord injury in Victoria, 2007–2016
Given the devastating consequences of TSCI, improved primary prevention strategies are needed
Ben Beck · Peter A Cameron · Sandra Braaf · Andrew Nunn · Mark C Fitzgerald · Rodney T Judson · Warwick J Teague · Alyse Lennox · James W Middleton · James E Harrison · Belinda J Gabbe
Acute kidney injury in Indigenous Australians in the Kimberley: age distribution and associated diagnoses
Infectious conditions were common among patients, underscoring the significance of environmental determinants of health
Joseph V Mohan · David N Atkinson · Johan B Rosman · Emma K Griffiths
Evaluating recruitment strategies for AUSPICE, a large Australian community‐based randomised controlled trial
Novel, multifaceted recruitment methods are needed to obtain adequate participation in Australian randomised controlled trials
Roseanne Peel · Shu Ren · Alexis Hure · Tiffany‐Jane Evans · Catherine A D'Este · Walter P Abhayaratna · Andrew M Tonkin · Ingrid Hopper · Amanda G Thrift · Christopher R Levi · Jonathan Sturm · David Durrheim · Joseph Hung · Tom G Briffa · Derek P Chew · Phil Anderson · Lynelle Moon · Mark McEvoy · Philip M Hansbro · David A Newby · John R Attia
Entrustable professional activities for workplace assessment of general practice trainees
EPAs have a strong theoretical basis, can be used as assessment tools in a real world workplace based training environment
Nyoli Valentine · Jon Wignes · Jill Benson · Stephanie Clota · Lambert WT Schuwirth
Influenza and pertussis vaccination of women during pregnancy in Victoria, 2015–2017
Pertussis vaccination of pregnant women in Victoria has increased, but influenza vaccination rates remain moderate and variable
Stacey L Rowe · Kirsten P Perrett · Rosemary Morey · Nicola Stephens · Benjamin C Cowie · Terry M Nolan · Karin Leder · Helen Pitcher · Brett Sutton · Allen C Cheng
Diagnosis of Mycobacterium ulcerans disease: be alert to the possibility of negative initial PCR results
Correct swabbing technique and caution when interpreting negative results are needed
Daniel P O'Brien · Maria Globan · Janet M Fyfe · Caroline J Lavender · Adrian Murrie · Damian Flanagan · Peter Meggyesy · Jonathan T Priestley · David Leslie
The impact of rapid molecular diagnostic testing for respiratory viruses on outcomes for emergency department patients
Rapid PCR testing may have several benefits for patients and for the health care system
Nasir Wabe · Ling Li · Robert Lindeman · Ruth Yimsung · Maria R Dahm · Kate Clezy · Susan McLennan · Johanna Westbrook · Andrew Georgiou
Early initiation of antiretroviral therapy for people newly diagnosed with HIV infection in Australia: trends and predictors, 2004–2015
The known Treatment of people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) soon after diagnosis reduces the risk of transmission and HIV‐related morbidity. The proportion and characteristics of people who receive early treatment are not well described.
Hamish McManus · Denton Callander · Basil Donovan · Darren B Russell · Catherine C O'Connor · Stephen C Davies · David A Lewis · Margaret E Hellard · Marcus Y Chen · Kathy Petoumenos · Rick Varma · Aaron Cogle · Mark Alastair Boyd · Andrew Grulich · James Pollard · Nick Medland · Christopher K Fairley · Rebecca J Guy
Cultural respect in general practice: a cluster randomised controlled trial
The known: The gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non‐Indigenous Australians remains large. Urban Indigenous Australian‐controlled health services are under‐resourced, and mainstream primary care services are often not culturally sensitive.
Siaw‐Teng Liaw · Vicki Wade · John S Furler · Iqbal Hasan · Phyllis Lau · Margaret Kelaher · Wei Xuan · Mark F Harris
Evaluating the benefits of a rapid access chest pain clinic in Australia
The known: Rapid access chest pain clinics (RACPCs), common in the United Kingdom, could improve the management of patients with chest pain in Australia.
James Andrew Black · Kevin Cheng · Jo‐Anne Flood · Garry Hamilton · Serena Parker · Anees Enayati · Faisal S Khan · Tom Marwick
Identifying the cultural heritage of patients during clinical handover and in hospital medical records
The known The format, content and conduct of medical handovers by hospital doctors are receiving increasing attention from health care policymakers.
David JR Morgan · Tania Harris · Ron Gidgup · Martin Whitely
Seroprevalence of Q fever among metropolitan and non‐metropolitan blood donors in New South Wales and Queensland, 2014–2015
The known: Opportunistic Q fever serosurveys in Australia suggest that it is underreported, but exposure histories have not been collected.
Heather F Gidding · Helen M Faddy · David N Durrheim · Stephen R Graves · Chelsea Nguyen · Penny Hutchinson · Peter Massey · Nicholas Wood
The burden of pancreatic cancer in Australia attributable to smoking
The knownThe future pancreatic cancer burden attributable to tobacco smoking has not been estimated in Australia. The newNearly 22% of the future burden of pancreatic cancer is attributable to current and former smoking, 15% (5500 cases over the next 10 years) to current smoking alone. The smoking‐related burden of pancreatic cancer is markedly higher for men and for people under 65. The implicationsReducing smoking rates among men and people under 65 would have the greatest impact on reducing the future burden of pancreatic cancer in Australia.
Maria E Arriaga · Claire M Vajdic · Robert J MacInnis · Karen Canfell · Dianna J Magliano · Jonathan E Shaw · Julie E Byles · Graham G Giles · Anne W Taylor · Tiffany K Gill · Vasant Hirani · Robert G Cumming · R Paul Mitchell · Emily Banks · Julie Marker · Barbara‐Ann Adelstein · Maarit A Laaksonen
External validation and comparison of four cardiovascular risk prediction models with data from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study
The known: Clinicians need accurate and reliable tools to help identify people at increased risk of a cardiovascular event.
Loai Albarqouni · Jennifer A Doust · Dianna Magliano · Elizabeth LM Barr · Jonathan E Shaw · Paul P Glasziou
Iodine status of Indigenous and non‐Indigenous young adults in the Top End, before and after mandatory fortification
The known: Iodine deficiency re‐emerged in Australia in the 1990s, motivating mandatory fortification of bread with iodised salt in 2009.
Gurmeet R Singh · Belinda Davison · Gary Y Ma · Creswell J Eastman · Dorothy EM Mackerras
