Search the hub
Showing results for tags 'Medicine - Neurology'.
Found 48 results
-
Content ArticleThe authors of this paper describe here the content and structure of their patient registry along the Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE) with the aim of transparent in-house quality monitoring, communication with patients, and also to facilitate benchmarking with other neurosurgery health care providers.
-
Content Article
Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC)
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Maternity
Preventable harm during labour can be catastrophic for parents, babies and families, as well as for the staff involved. Reducing avoidable brain injury in childbirth means building on everyone’s experiences and expertise, working together to improve care in labour for all. THIS Institute, in partnership with The Royal College of Midwives and The Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, is inviting maternity staff, parents and birth partners from across the UK to contribute their views to their Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) campaign. The focus is on monitoring and responding to babies’ wellbeing during labour and on managing the emergency complication at caesarean section known as impacted fetal head. The ABC campaign aims to give maternity staff tools and support to be able to provide the highest quality of care when there are concerns about the baby’s wellbeing during labour. It also aims to improve communication with everyone using maternity services and make sure they are listened to and involved in decisions about their care. -
Content ArticleIn the UK over 1000 people with epilepsy die every year and it's estimated that more than half of these deaths could be avoided. This is a free evidence-based tool, supporting clinicians in discussing risk with people with epilepsy. It includes risk factors linked to epilepsy mortality, including (but not restricted to) Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). To watch the introductory video and register for access to checklist, follow the link below to the SUDEP Action website.
-
Content ArticleThis WHO report includes six case studies from 12 individuals with lived experience of diverse health conditions. These case studies explore the topics of power dynamics and power reorientation towards individuals with lived experience; informed decision-making and health literacy; community engagement across broader health networks and health systems; lived experience as evidence and expertise; exclusion and the importance of involving groups that are marginalized; and advocacy and human rights. It is the first publication in the WHO Intention to action series, which aims to enhance the limited evidence base on the impact of meaningful engagement and address the lack of standardized approaches on how to operationalise meaningful engagement. The Intention to action series aims to do this by providing a platform from which individuals with lived experience, and organisational and institutional champions, can share solutions, challenges and promising practices related to this cross-cutting agenda.
-
News Article
Dr Michael Watt: Almost 20% of patients misdiagnosed
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Almost 20% of patients seen by neurology consultant Dr Michael Watt were given a wrong diagnosis, a report has found. A review of 927 of Dr Watt's high-risk patients found 181 people received a diagnosis described as "not secure", Health Minister Robin Swann said. He was speaking as the Belfast Trust announced the recall of a further 209 neurology patients seen and discharged by Dr Watt between 1996 and 2012. This is the third such recall. Dr Watt was at the centre of Northern Ireland's biggest patient recall linked to his work at Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital. Mr Swann said he had met patients and families affected by the recall in October last year. "While this report is statistical in nature, it deals with individuals, their families and their experiences," he said. "I know that many will have had their confidence in our health service shaken and I remain committed to helping restore it." Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 April 2021 -
News ArticleAn NHS trust has been urged to publish the full findings of an independent review of its services after it released a heavily redacted report. University Hospitals Sussex has refused to reveal the recommendations made after a review by the Royal College of Surgeons in 2019. A patients' group said the findings should be "in the public domain". The trust said the review of its neurosurgery department "did not highlight any safety concerns". The review was discovered as part of a BBC Panorama investigation into unpublished patient safety reports. A heavily edited report was released under freedom of information laws. It showed the trust asked the Royal College of Surgeons to look at "concerns raised in respect of clinical outcomes, allocation of sub-specialties and governance arrangements". All issues and recommendations were obscured, with only positive feedback disclosed. Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 May 2021
-
EventuntilThis webinar is organised by the Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine. The panel will review the neurological and neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID-19, what is known about this emerging spectrum of disorders, It is timely to review what we know and don’t know about the neurological and neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID-19, what is known about why they happen and what treatments to consider. Register
-
Content Article1 in 6 people in the UK live with a neurological condition, but there simply isn’t the workforce or services in place to provide the support they need. Every two years, The Neurological Alliance runs My Neuro Survey to give a picture of the experience of care, treatment and support for people with neurological conditions. From a lack of mental wellbeing support, delays to life changing treatment and care and a lack of information and support at diagnosis, over 8,500 people living with or affected by neurological conditions across the UK shared their experiences in the 2021/22 My Neuro Survey.
-
Content ArticleThe Belfast Health Trust failed to intervene quickly enough in the practice of a doctor which led to Northern Ireland's largest ever patient recall, the Independent Neurology Inquiry has found. More than 5,000 former patients of neurologist Michael Watt were invited to have their cases examined for possible misdiagnoses. Among the conditions being treated were stroke, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis (MS). The inquiry found "numerous failures". The Independent Neurology Inquiry concluded that the combined effect of the failures ensured that patterns in the consultant's work were missed for a decade.
-
Content ArticleCOVID-19 is associated with increased risks of neurological and psychiatric sequelae in the weeks and months thereafter. How long these risks remain, whether they affect children and adults similarly, and whether SARS-CoV-2 variants differ in their risk profiles remains unclear. This study from Taquet et al. looked at the risks of 14 different disorders in 1.25 million patients two years on from Covid, mostly in the US. It then compared them with a closely-matched group of 1.25 million people who had a different respiratory infection. In the group who had Covid, after two years, there were more new cases of dementia, stroke and brain fog in adults aged over 65; brain fog in adults aged 18-64; and epilepsy and psychotic disorders in children, although the overall risks were small. Some disorders became less common two years after Covid, including anxiety and depression in children and adults and psychotic disorders in adults. The increased risk of depression and anxiety in adults lasts less than two months before returning to normal levels, the research found.
-
Content ArticleThe Brain Charity has launched a survey that looks into delayed and misdiagnosis of neurological conditions, with the hope that the findings will help improve the issues people with neurological conditions can face when seeking a diagnosis. The survey is open to anyone who has a neurological condition, or to family members who can complete the survey on a patient’s behalf. Follow the link below to find out more about the survey and to complete it.
-
Content ArticleThere is evidence that COVID-19 may cause long term health changes past acute symptoms, termed ‘long COVID’. This paper includes detailed cognitive assessment and questionnaire data from tens thousands of datasets, collected in collaboration with BBC2 Horizon, which align with the view that there are chronic cognitive consequences of having COVID-19. This article, published by medRxiv, is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.
-
Content ArticleFrom acute delirium to long term fatigue, COVID-19 has serious neuropsychiatric effects. Viral infections of the respiratory tract can have multisystemic effects, including on the central nervous system (CNS), and thus may precipitate a spectrum of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Some patients with COVID-19 are now known to develop various CNS abnormalities with potentially serious and long term consequences, including stroke and isolated psychiatric syndromes. As COVID-19 cases rise again worldwide, Butler et al. review what we know and don’t know about the acute and chronic neuropsychiatric sequelae and their potential mechanisms.
-
Content ArticlePeople aged under 60 who are hospitalised with COVID-19 are more likely than expected to experience severe psychiatric symptoms. Research found that altered mental states such as psychosis are being reported in these younger patients. It confirmed that strokes and other neurological symptoms are common in severe COVID-19. The authors are gathering and analysing more detailed clinical information about the patients reported in this study, and others reported since (540 are now included). They are seeking funding for a further study to include more clinical investigations such as analysis of spinal fluid, blood and brain imaging. Author Benedict Michael is co-chairing a World Health Organization commissioned task force which will consider how to use the information from the ongoing research project in guidance for clinicians. The task force will consider whether people with new-onset altered mental state or another acute neurological problem should be tested for COVID-19. Some patients with few respiratory signs present with this symptom. They will consider which tests and investigations people with COVID-19 and neurological symptoms should undergo. Doctors need to be sure COVID-19 is the cause of the symptoms, and to know how patients should be managed.
-
Content ArticleNeurological symptoms are seen in patients with COVID-19 and can persist or re-emerge after clearance of SARS-CoV-2. Recent findings suggest that antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 can cross-react with mammalian proteins. Focusing on neurological symptoms, Kreye et al. discuss whether these cross-reactive antibodies could contribute to COVID-19 disease pathology and to the persistence of symptoms in patients who have cleared the initial viral infection.
-
Content ArticleIn this guest blog for mumsnet, Nadine Montgomery talks about her journey to the Supreme Court to cement patients’ right to make an informed decision. Nadine highlights the lack of information she was given around potential birth risks as a diabetic pregnant women and how, if better informed, she would have made different choices which could have prevented her baby from suffering harm.
-
Content ArticleMyalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is characterised by persistent and disabling fatigue, exercise intolerance, cognitive difficulty, and musculoskeletal/joint pain. Post-exertional malaise is a worsening of these symptoms after a physical or mental exertion and is considered a central feature of the illness. Scant observations in the available literature provide qualitative assessments of post-exertional malaise in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. To enhance our understanding, Stussman et al. formed focus groups and listened to patients’ experiences to better understand post-extertional malaise. The authors found that the experience of post-exertional malaise in ME/CFS varies greatly between individuals and leads to a diminished quality of life. ME/CFS patients describe post-exertional malaise as all-encompassing with symptoms affecting every part of the body, difficult to predict or manage, and requiring complete bedrest to fully or partially recover. Given the extensive variability in patients, further research identifying subtypes of post-exertional malaise could lead to better targeted therapeutic options.
-
Content ArticleIn response to the rapid spread of COVID-19, this paper from Tamar Wildwing and Nicole Holt provides health professionals with better accessibility to available evidence, summarising findings from a systematic overview of systematic reviews of the neurological symptoms seen in patients with COVID-19. Implications of so-called Long Covid on neurological services and primary care and similarities with other neurological disorders are discussed. Note: This article is a preprint and has not yet been peer-reviewed.
-
Content ArticleGroup B streptococcus (GBS) is a naturally occurring bacterium, often found in the mother’s vagina, which can be dangerous for babies during labour and immediately after birth. The mothers carry this bacterium in the birth canal without any problem to themselves. Giving antibiotics to the mother during labour reduces the incidence of GBS infection passing on to the baby (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2012).
-
Content ArticleThe results of this study, published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, confirm previous work that demonstrated an abnormal response to exercise in fatigued ME/CFS patients.
-
Content ArticlePeople with progressive neurological conditions are experiencing delays in diagnosis and treatment, fragmented and uncoordinated services, limited availability of neurospecialist rehab and reablement and a lack of psycho–social support. This RightCare toolkit developed by NHS England will support systems to understand the priorities in care for people living with various progressive neurological conditions.
-
Content ArticleThe UK Acquired Brain Injury Foundation (UKABIF) is advocating on behalf of people affected by an acquired brain injury in relation to ensuring proper care while managing the impact of coronavirus. This coronavirus information page gives a list of useful resources for those with acquired brain injuries and those caring for them.
-
Content ArticleThe Prolonged disorders of consciousness national clinical guidelines are a major contribution to clinical and ethical standards of care for people with prolonged disorders of consciousness (PDOC) – including vegetative (VS) and minimally conscious states (MCS) – following sudden onset brain injury, not only in the UK but internationally. For England and Wales, they provide much-needed clarity on legal decision-making. The guidelines were developed by the PDOC Guideline Development Group, which included representation of patients/users and a wide range of stakeholders and professionals involved in the management of patients with PDOC. People in a vegetative or minimally conscious state present a complex array of medical, ethical and legal challenges.
