More than 10,000 whooping cough cases reported in first six months of 2024 Case numbers of whooping cough in 2024 so far have already exceeded the total number of cases reported in 2012, the last major outbreak of the disease.…
Croup: diagnosis and management Croup is a common childhood illness that can usually be managed at home. Pharmacists can counsel worried parents on appropriate treatment and should also be aware of red-flag symptoms and referral pathways.…
Bringing high-quality diagnostics for COPD and asthma to north Wales As a pharmacist prescriber at a community diagnostic respiratory hub in South Denbighshire, North Wales, Kevin Parvin explains why the hub is needed and how it is benefiting patients.…
One in ten people with chronic pain could experience opioid dependence, suggest study results The pooled prevalence of dependence and opioid use disorder was 9.3% across 148 studies, but the researchers say high heterogeneity means the results should be “interpreted with caution”.…
First gene-editing therapy recommended by NICE to treat people with beta thalassaemia NHS England said that around 460 patients aged 12 years and over could benefit from the treatment.…
Changes in migraine treatment: how new classes of drugs can provide additional options for patients and prescribers This episode of The PJ Pod looks at recent changes to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on the treatment of acute and chronic migraine and what pharmacists should expect from the new class of gepant drugs.…
More than 20,000 inhalers returned since November 2023 through recycling pilot Exclusive: Since its launch in November 2023, 20,400 inhalers have been returned through the ‘Re-Hale’ scheme, which operates across 78 locations in East Kent.…
How we recycled over 20,000 inhalers so far in East Kent NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board explains how an inhaler recycling scheme was set up as a collaborative working project with biopharmaceutical company Chiesi.…
NSAID prescribing in high-risk groups is a major source of avoidable harm, study finds The study estimated that the practice could have caused more than 6,000 lost years of good health across England over a ten-year period.…
MHRA approves semaglutide to prevent cardiovascular events in overweight and obese adults The approval is based on data from a trial that demonstrated how semaglutide lowered the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events compared with placebo.…