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Conflict can arise between health professionals and the parents of children not only where there is disagreement on the withdrawal or withholding of life sustaining treatment but also in more general routine care. A new paper for paediatricians and other health professionals suggests ways to help reduce conflict.

Automated cough analysis technology incorporated in a smartphone app could help to diagnose childhood respiratory disorders, according to an Australian study published in the journal Respiratory Research.

Guidelines heavily impact clinical practice, standards of care and quality measures. Intuitively the expectation is that Class I recommendations would be supported by level A evidence. Instead, it appears that although the literature has grown, guideline authors continue to base many strong recommendations on expert opinion alone.

A new cell type that could stop allergies before they begin has been discovered by researchers at The Australian National University (ANU). The finding gives hope to people who live with a range of allergic conditions including asthma, eczema and life-threatening anaphylaxis.

When babies pass through the mother's birth canal, the tight fit temporarily squashes their heads, elongating their flexible skulls and changing the shape of their brains. Now, scientists have created 3D images that demonstrate the extent of that amazing conehead-like distortion.

A potential new treatment for asthma works by targeting the cause of the disease, rather than just masking its symptoms. Preclinical findings show how a drug, currently well tolerated in clinical trials for cancer, is able to ‘switch off’ and reverse the uncontrolled inflammation responsible for driving and exacerbating asthma.

The most comprehensive report produced on Australian antimicrobial use and resistance trends has found that antimicrobial use in the community is falling, but they continue to be overprescribed, while some dangerous bacteria are growing increasingly resistant to common antibiotics.

A team of Melbourne researchers have found the time to treat ischemic stroke patients can be doubled. One in five people suffer stroke in their sleep and this will be life changing for them.

A cure for multiple myeloma – a malignancy of plasma cells originating from the bone marrow – is on the cards if breakthroughs continue to come at the rate of the past decade, according to researchers.

Student nurses should be equipped with tools to deal with stress as a routine part of their training, according to the results of a new study. The research authors made the recommendation after discovering the pressure associated with nursing studies was an “important risk factor” in the mental health of students.