8/February/2022 Top Medical Bulletin

Here are todays top medical stories

Saliva or tongue swabs an alternative instead of nasal swabs to diagnose Covid-19   

 A study in Journal of Clinical Virology brought out alternative methods for swabs to detect covid-19. It was observed that saliva samples allowed for the detection of 85.3% of positive patients, tongue swabs allowed for the detection of 67.6% of positive patients and buccal swabs allowed for detection of 20.8% of positive patients, when compared to nasopharyngeal swabs.

The importance of fast management of patients and implicating effective infection control measures, both in and out of the healthcare setting is very essential. Nasal swabs also known as nasopharyngeal swabs are primary means to detect the virus, however its very discomforting in patients and can cause anxiety to some extent in them.

Study concluded that using simple saliva collection can provide a less invasive and reliable alternative method for the detection of SARS-CoV2 particularly in those patients where invasive sampling is difficult and where regular repeat testing is required.

Diets to influence hyperuricemia and gout in patients

Diets influence health to a greater extent, gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis, affecting 41 million adults worldwide. The global burden of gout has been increasing over the last three decades, yet its management remains insignificant.

The impact of various diets such as the DASH, Mediterranean, and low purine diets; weight loss; and individual foods, including alcohol, caffeine, cherry, dairy, high fructose corn syrup, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin C on hyperuricemia and clinical gout outcomes such as flares and tophi are known to help gout. However study in Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology, journal found the dietary factors appeared to have a small effect on serum urate levels, and their impact on the long-term clinical course of gout is uncertain.

Researchers discover two treatments that induce peanut allergy remission in children

Peanut allergy causes severe skin reactions, such as hives, redness or swelling. Itching or tingling in or around the mouth and throat. Researchers have discovered two peanut allergy treatments for children that are both highly effective at inducing remission.

The research, led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI), found the treatments – a combination of a probiotic together with oral immunotherapy (the gradual introduction of the allergenic food) and oral immunotherapy alone – significantly induced remission and desensitisation. About half of the children achieved remission, allowing them to stop treatment and safely eat peanut freely. Both treatments also provided substantial improvement in quality of life compared with current standard care.

For more information check out the full story on the link below:

Researchers discover two treatments that induce peanut allergy remission in children

Bystander CPR may improve survival in exercise-related sudden cardiac arrest

Sudden cardiac death, is a serious cause of global death. A new study shows that exercise-related sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is more common in men and is usually accompanied by a shockable ventricular arrhythmia, emphasizing the significance of quick access to defibrillation. Therefore Bystander CPR may play and important role in improving survival in exercise-related sudden cardiac arrest.

Findings of the study were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine on 1st December 2021.

This study was a systematic review with the goal of evaluating bystander interventions and survival rates following exercise-related SCA. From the beginning of the study through November/December 2020, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, Cochrane Library, and grey literature sources were searched.

For more information check out the full story on the link below:

Bystander CPR may improve survival in exercise-related sudden cardiac arrest: BJSM

Switch to dry powder inhaler more than halves carbon footprint of asthma treatment

Asthma management is most crucial as its very important several medications are being used to prevent dire consequences. Switching from a metered dose inhaler to a dry powder version for maintenance therapy more than halves the carbon footprint of people with asthma, and without any worsening of their condition, finds a pharma industry sponsored study published online in the journal Thorax.

This substitution would be an acceptable and worthwhile 'green' option for most patients who can safely manage their condition at home, and should be widely encouraged, conclude the researchers. The use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in aerosol propellants was banned under the 1987 Montreal Protocol agreement because of their impact on global warming.

For more information check out the full story on the link below:

Switch to dry powder inhaler more than halves carbon footprint of asthma treatment