HELLP Syndrome
HELLP syndrome is a pregnancy complication that usually presents in women who have pre-eclampsia or eclampsia. Affected women also show signs of liver damage and abnormalities in blood clotting. HELLP syndrome is characterised by: Haemolysis ELevated liver enzymes Low...
What is Evidence-based Medicine?
Evidence-based medicine is the term used to describe the process of systematically reviewing, appraising and using the findings of clinical research to assist with the delivery of optimum clinical care to patients. The most commonly quoted definition of evidence-based...
The Story of Penicillin
I sometimes take antibiotics for granted. As a doctor, I have prescribed thousands of courses of antibiotics throughout my career. I have taken many courses myself also, and they almost certainly saved my life when I perforated my appendix in my mid-20s. Antibiotics...
The Recognition and Management of Sepsis
Sepsis is one of the leading causes of death worldwide but remains a little known entity to the general public. Every year, around 150,000 people in the UK develop sepsis and, of those, over 40,000 die. The incidence of sepsis in the developed world is increasing by...
