Blog

Remdesivir has been shown to reduce the duration of illness in patients with severe COVID-19. But what about patients with moderate disease? This EBM Focus article, from the DynaMed editorial team, provides a concise summary of clinical trials most likely to inform clinical practice.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a flood of potentially substandard research amid the rush to publish, with a string of papers retracted or under a cloud and a surge in submissions to pre-print servers where fewer quality checks are made, a leading Queensland-based ethicist has warned. This has serious implications for patients, clinicians, and potentially government policy.

Clinicians need assurance that the diagnostic and treatment decisions they are making are based on the most current evidence-based research and information available. CKN’s point of care (POC) tools can provide clinicians with that confidence making important decisions within the patient care setting. 

Infections account for almost three quarters of Australian infants needing to see a doctor and 1 in 10 presenting to an emergency department by 12 months of age, according to a new study.

People with ‘silent’ COVID-19 infection have as much coronavirus in their noses and throats as those with symptoms, reveals research published online in the BMJ journal Thorax. Given how many of these people there are (20% of those infected, the study findings show) they may have a key role in driving the spread of COVID-19, warn the researchers, who go on to suggest that this warrants extending testing provision.

The estimated 140,000 diagnostic errors made in Australia every year could be prevented by implementing key strategies, according to a perspective paper by a University of Queensland researcher.

Emergency physicians have noticed a startling change to the types of presentations to EDs since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of people attending Australian EDs in 2020 was significantly lower than 2019, but workload hasn't dropped with more complex patients being treated, according to a research letter published in the MJA.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has put the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), including face masks, under the global spotlight. However a paper published in Anaesthesia (a journal of the Association of Anaesthetists) reveals that masks do not always fit correctly and hospitals can lack the time and financial resources to ensure every healthcare worker has a mask that fits correctly.

CKN’s commitment to Queensland clinicians doesn’t end with providing access to one of the country’s most comprehensive online clinical libraries. Through its dedicated Brisbane-based trainer, Ms Hanwool Jeong, CKN has been able to provide both in-hospital and online webinar training on key point of care tools, research databases, journals, guidance on how to best to find information using CKN’s powerful discovery search, and develop a cohort of "super user" CKN Clinical Champions.

Voice memos from clinicians are being collected via a private WhatsApp channel to capture their experience of the coronavirus pandemic and improve future preparedness. Led by researchers at the University of Melbourne’s Nossal Institute for Global Heath, the project is analysing the stories and collating key lessons about health systems’ responses to the pandemic across a range of places and over different time periods. The project is open to all clinicians, with contributions being anonymous and securely encrypted.