In December 2016, Valeria Olivo attended the British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting in London, an event aimed at bringing together medical professionals with an interest in pulmonary diseases to present updates on current research in the field of respiratory medicine.
In order to provide the most effective treatment for low back pain and to treat those most in need, screening instruments can be used to best allocate care; however there is uncertainty over their prognostic performance. Published today in BMC Medicine, a new systematic review looks to assess how accurately screening instruments can classify those with an episode of low back pain who will have a poor outcome. Here author, Emma Karran, tells us more.
Many who have overindulged over Christmas and New Year may be tempted to give up alcohol entirely for January. In this blog ISRCTN looks at recently registered research about ‘the demon drink’.
The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) is an established tool used to assess the physical performance of a patient’s lower extremities. Published in BMC Medicine, a meta-analysis looks at whether a patient’s SPPB score can be used a predictor for all cause mortality. Here, lead author of the study, Rita Pavasini, tells us more.
Published today in BMC Medicine a new study looks at the placebo effect and how it can be utilized to improve the long-term outcome in heart surgery patients. In this blog the authors of the study discuss their findings and explore how patient expectations are a major mechanism that causes the placebo effect.
Published today in Critical Care, a new clinical trial investigates whether whole-body-vibration, which has been used in rehabilitation care; professional athletics and even on astronauts, could be used in intensive care units to protect against muscle wasting. Here, the authors of the paper tell us more.