Delaying antibiotics in upper respiratory tract infection could increase risk of hospital admission, study suggests Delayed antibiotic prescribing is associated with an increase in the risk of infection-related hospital admissions and repeat antibiotic prescribing in patients with upper respiratory tract infection, a study in Clinical Infectious Diseases has suggested.…
Reducing asthma medication does not worsen outcomes but could save money, study suggests Stepping down asthma medication does not adversely affect patient outcomes and could save millions of pounds in medicines costs, a study in PLoS Medicine has found.…
Inhaler recycling scheme that cut carbon emissions equivalent to more than 8,500 cars is scrapped A scheme to recycle respiratory inhalers, which has cut carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to taking around 8,600 cars off UK roads, is ending.…
No going back: how the pandemic is changing hospital pharmacy The COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge challenge, but it has revolutionised pharmacy practice in some positive ways. In the first of a three-part series, we ask hospital pharmacists which changes they want to retain.…
Blue, brown and now green The ‘NHS long-term plan’ has called for a shift towards inhalers with a lower carbon footprint.…
Salbutamol inhaler prescribing jumped 60% at start of COVID-19 pandemic The number of some inhalers prescribed by GPs in England increased by 63% between February 2020 and March 2020, according to data analysed by The Pharmaceutical Journal.…
Community management of pneumonia and suspected COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of understanding the differences between viral and bacterial pneumonia, and how adult patients can be managed as they recover at home.…
Daily multidisciplinary team meetings could cut COPD hospital stays Daily multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings significantly reduced the length of hospital stay for patients with COPD, a study published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association has found.…
Why we must urgently rethink prescribing short-acting bronchodilators for asthma Guidelines from the Global Initiative for Asthma present a radical overhaul of the way we manage asthma; but our current approach isn’t working, and nothing will change if it is not challenged.…
Asthma exacerbations during pregnancy linked to birth complications Women with asthma who experience exacerbations during pregnancy are more likely to have birth complications than women with well-controlled asthma, a study published in the European Respiratory Journal has suggested.…
