Children from South Asian communities fare worse than others when they have asthma. They are diagnosed later and are more likely to need emergency treatment. Researchers worked with South Asian communities in Leicester to understand what needs to be done to increase asthma diagnoses and improve management among children. The Management and Interventions for Asthma ...

Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool for rapidly detecting COVID-19 in people arriving at a hospital’s emergency department. The tool can accurately rule out infection within an hour of a patient arriving at hospital, significantly faster than the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test that has a turnaround time of typically 24 hours.  Widespread ...

Primary care is the ideal place to offer lifestyle and mental health advice; millions of people visit every month. The briefest of conversations can make a difference. New research from the NIHR offers advice to staff on how to maximise the impact of each encounter. GPs and nurses can be reassured that individuals value their ...

Meningitis caused by tuberculosis (TB) is rare in the UK, but it is a dangerous disease which can be fatal or leave people with disabilities. Children are particularly vulnerable to poor outcomes. TB is better known for causing lung disease, but the bacteria can also infect the brain, causing TB meningitis. The disease is often ...

People with pneumonia are at high risk of having a heart attack or stroke. New research suggests that taking aspirin may reduce the risk of these cardiovascular events. Pneumonia is swelling (inflammation) of the tissue in one or both lungs. It is usually caused by bacterial infection but can also be caused by viruses, including ...

Self-management of asthma means healthcare professionals educating, training and supporting people with asthma so they learn to manage their own condition. But there is little evidence to guide the level of support patients need from their healthcare team. This study compared four self-management models for asthma by reviewing existing research papers. The most effective model ...

Tests carried out on mobile units parked in supermarket car parks were a popular and effective way to check the lungs of at-risk current and former smokers in a study in Manchester.     Simple tests of lung function in these mobile units found more than a third of those screened had evidence of airflow obstruction. This ...

A new study of asthma patients with and without a history of drug misuse found that rates of attendance at an annual asthma review were poor across the whole group. Rates of flu vaccination, which is recommended for people with asthma, were also generally low. However, patients with a history of opioid use disorders (OUD) ...

The sit-to-stand test, which requires only a chair and a stopwatch, could identify patients with a common lung disease who are at high risk of being admitted to hospital. Researchers found that the test, which takes less than five minutes to perform, also predicted the length of their hospital stay. The study looked at patients ...

More than 80% of total knee replacements can last for 25 years An NIHR-funded study showed that about 82% of total knee replacements and 70% of partial (unicompartmental) knee replacements last for 25 years. In 2017 there were 106,334 knee replacement procedures carried out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This research suggests people could be ...