News | Respiratory tract diseases

News

Children with poorly controlled asthma should be prioritised for COVID-19 vaccination, study results suggest

Researchers found that children with poorly controlled asthma were up to six times more likely to be admitted to hospital with COVID-19 than those without asthma.…

Published: 6 December 2021

News

NHS develops dashboard to identify possible over-prescribing of prednisolone

The dashboard calculates the total cumulative dose of prednisolone prescribed to patients in England in the past 12 months, allowing those at risk to be considered for alternative treatment methods.…

Published: 3 December 2021

News

Hospital to offer test that cuts wait for identifying secondary infection in COVID-19 patients

Results from a study on a DNA test showed it could provide accurate pathogen detection and antibiotic resistance prediction within eight hours.…

Published: 3 December 2021

News

Oral antiviral may cut risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation by nearly 90%, manufacturer claims

Results from an interim analysis suggest an investigational antiviral from Pfizer may reduce the risk of hospitalisation or death in COVID-19 patients.…

Published: 5 November 2021

News

‘Game-changing’ COVID-19 antiviral drug gets approval in UK for at-risk patients

Announcing the regulatory approval, Sajid Javid said the government is "working at pace" to deploy molnupiravir to patients in a national study "as soon as possible".…

Published: 4 November 2021

News

Children discharged with pneumonia need only three days of antibiotic treatment, study results suggest

Amoxicillin was found to be no less effective in children receiving the antibiotic for three days than it was in those who took it for seven days.…

Published: 3 November 2021

News

First ever injection pen recycling pilot launched in UK pharmacies

Novo Nordisk has launched the PenCycle scheme, enabling patients to recycle their FlexPen and FlexTouch devices by returning them to participating pharmacies or through pre-paid Royal Mail boxes.…

Published: 1 November 2021

Feature

Greener inhalers: are we setting the wrong targets?

One of the NHS's main goals is to reduce emissions, but there are questions around whether current tactics for reducing inhaler emissions are in the best interests of both the planet and patients.…

Published: 28 October 2021

News

Oral antiviral may halve COVID-19 hospitalisation risk, claims manufacturer

Interim results from a trial using data from 775 patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 show that no deaths were reported in those given molnupiravir, compared with eight deaths in those who were given a placebo.…

Published: 1 October 2021

News

It is ‘shocking’ that free flu vaccinations are not being offered to all pharmacists in England and Wales, says RPS

Claire Anderson, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said the Society is "calling on the NHS to offer free flu vaccinations to pharmacists and pharmacy teams in both England and Wales, as is the case in Scotland”.…

Published: 21 September 2021