Kieran Walsh, clinical director at BMJ, asks editors from BMJ Learning and BMJ Best Practice to summarise the latest clinical guidance related to covid-19.

Matt Castleden, GP and section editor, updates us on pulse oximetry, prognostic scoring, and management in hospital.

And Abigail Davis, GP and section editor, covers Covid-19 vaccination and chronic conditions, including advice for patients with thrombocytopenia, and those taking immunosuppressive drugs, ACE inhibitors or ARBs.

For more, see:

BMJ Best Practice's topic on management of coexisting conditions in the context of COVID-19: bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/3000190

BMJ Best Practice's topic on covid-19: bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/3000168

BMJ Learning's quick tips module: proning in critical care: learning.bmj.com/learning/modules/elucidat/10065419  

BMJ Learning module on COVID-19 rapid guideline on critical care (NICE): new-learning.bmj.com/course/10065100

BMJ Learning covid-19 in primary care module: new-learning.bmj.com/course/10065230

Covid-19 update: Management, vaccination and chronic conditions

The BMJ Best Practice podcast publishes interviews with clinical experts, aimed at healthcare professionals and students with an interest in keeping up to date with the latest scientific developments, evidence-based medicine and guidelines. 

BMJ Best Practice is ranked one of the best clinical decision support tools for health professionals worldwide.* Structured around the clinical workflow and updated daily, BMJ Best Practice uses the latest evidence-based research, guidelines and expert opinion to offer step-by-step guidance on diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and prevention.

bestpractice.bmj.com

*Kwag KH, González-Lorenzo M, Banzi R, Bonovas S, Moja L. Providing Doctors With High-Quality Information: An Updated Evaluation of Web-Based Point-of-Care Information Summaries

The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. The content of this podcast does not constitute medical advice and it is not intended to function as a substitute for a healthcare practitioner’s judgement...

Medicine

Science & Medicine

Health & Fitness

COPD is common. It is the third leading cause of death worldwide, causing 3.23 million deaths in 2019. And anyone who has worked in a hospital will know that exacerbations are common also. So it is important that we get the diagnosis and management of this condition right. To find out more details about this problem and what we can do about it, please do listen to his podcast interview with Neil Greening, Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant Physician at the Institute for Lung Health, Leicester. Competing interests: Dr Greening has received honoraria, lecture fees, travel for conferences and consultancy fees from AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Chiesi, Sanofi and Pulmonx. His Institution has received grant funding and consultancy fees from GSK, and Roche.

COPD: an update on diagnosis and management

Syncope is common. It accounts for approximately 1% of all emergency department visits and 2% of all hospital admissions from the emergency department. Causes include dysrhythmias, pulmonary embolism, subarachnoid haemorrhage, and acute coronary syndrome - to name but a few. So what if anything can we do to ensure that it is diagnosed and managed correctly? To answer this and other important questions, please do have a listen to this podcast interview with Professor Shamai Grossman, Associate Professor of Medicine and Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Competing interests: none

Syncope

Sepsis is common. In 2018, more than one million US Medicare patients were admitted to hospital with sepsis.
And complications are serious - from renal failure to ARDS to DIC.
So what if anything can we do to ensure that it is diagnosed and managed correctly?
To answer this and other important questions, have a listen to this podcast with Professor Andre Kalil, from the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
For more on sepsis, visit BMJ Best Practice.
Competing interests: none

Sepsis in adults

Acne is a common condition. The Global Burden of Disease estimates the prevalence of acne to be 8%, ranking it the eighth most prevalent disease worldwide.
And acne can cause complications - from scarring to dyspigmentation to mental health problems.
So what if anything can we do to ensure that it is diagnosed and managed correctly?
To answer this and other important questions, please have a listen to this podcast interview with Professor John Barbieri, Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Harvard. 
For more on acne, visit BMJ Best Practice.
Competing interests: JB has received consulting fees from Dexcel Pharma.

Acne vulgaris

Cervical spine injuries result primarily from motor vehicle accidents, sports activities, and diving into shallow water. These mainly happen with young people. In older people, falls are a common cause. And such injuries can cause a range of complications from pain to radiculopathy to other neurological disability.
So what if anything can we do to ensure that cervical spine trauma is diagnosed and managed correctly?
To answer this and other important questions, listen to this interview with Michael Fehlings, Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto, and author of our BMJ Best Practice topic on this condition.
Competing interests: MGF served as a consultant for Zimmer, In Vivo Therapeutics, and Pfizer. He receives institutional fellowship grant support from AOSpine, Medtronic, and Depuy-Synthes.

Covid-19 update: Management, vaccination and chronic conditions

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