Supporting patients to prevent urinary tract infection and self-catheterise

A study carried out by Okamoto et al (2017) found that there is uncertainty among intermittent self-catherisation (ISC) users regarding the signs and symptoms of urinary tract infection (UTI) and at...

Impact of Lifestyle on Cognitive Decline, Part 2: Looking Beyond Diet

Jia et al (2023) assessed the below six healthy lifestyle factors: Healthy diet (adherence to the recommended intake of at least seven of eligible food items)Regular physical exercise (≥150 minutes...

Impact of lifestyle on cognitive decline, part one: the role of diet

he discussion regarding what really affects our brains throughout our lives has been ongoing for some time. We know that alcohol and drugs are part of a lifestyle that can damage our brains, and we...

Machine learning for treatment optimisation: part two

Taliaz et al (2021) explored the use of machine learning to optimise treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD), which is multifactorial, and poses a challenge to the tailoring of optimal...

Machine learning for precision treatment: part one

In a study published in Heart, Sotomi et al (2023) examined the use of machine learning to identify cohorts of a population that may benefit from specific medications. The team had previously...

New research to support the achievability of diabetes remission in general practice

A fairly novel concept, which now has considerable backing by clinical research, relates to the ability for diabetes to reverse—that is, to go into remission. According to Diabetes UK (2023),...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: potential new treatments

Pradhan et al (2022) examined whether the use of the receptor agonist glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, and sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT-2)...

Use of decongestants in cold and flu season

As we make our way through cold and flu season, nurses in the community are likely to encounter many patients with varying degrees of illness from these viruses..

Medication savings for the NHS and for patients

Over the years, cheaper versions of the same drugs have been acquired by NHS England. An example of this is the drug adalimumab (NHS England, 2022), which is used to treat over 45 000 patients with...

Nurses’ role in smoking cessation interventions

For those people who would like to stop smoking, nurses can play a key role, with nurse prescribers helping deliver life-changing treatment.

What is new in intermittent self-catherisation?

Pickard et al (2018) examined antibiotic prophylaxis in intermittent self-catheterisation, noting that people carrying out clean intermittent self-catheterisation (CISC) in order to void their...

Blood pressure age ranges for community patient care