Drains in hospitals and homes ‘hotspots’ for MRSA
Microbiologists have found that 27% of home plumbing fixtures and 15% of hospital fixtures contain culturable pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, of which half are…
Tag: Environmental
Antidepressant scripts for kids: ‘We don’t have enough resources and services are scarce’
Social media and the cost of living are adding to the childhood mental health burden and the resultant rise in antidepressant prescribing, a child psychiatrist…
Jimi Hendrix, jail and life as a ’70s doctor: AusDoc interviews Bob Brown
In September 1970, a 25-year-old Dr Bob Brown met a patient he would never forget. “It was around 8am, and he was brought up on a trolley…
Spot Dx — Patient gardener’s hairy encounter
Cheryl is a 65-year-old retiree and avid gardener who reports a 24-hour history of redness, discomfort, irritation and tearing affecting the right eye. Test your…
Bronchodilator responsiveness is lower with afternoon and wintertime spirometry: study
Bronchodilator responsiveness falls by 8% for each hour of the day that has elapsed, showing the importance of spirometry timing, UK researchers say. The retrospective…
Tracking the source of a train hobbyist’s memory loss
Andy, a 52-year-old laboratory manager, presents with a six-month history of worsening memory and short-term recall problems. He also reports dizziness and occasional left leg…
How a tick bite on a scrotum caused a two-month diagnostic dilemma: case
A tick bite on a US man’s scrotum led doctors down a diagnostic rabbit hole that eventually resulted in the second human diagnosis of babesiosis…
Don’t blame inhalers! Medicine’s real sources of greenhouse gas emissions
Laundry, catering and even outsourced accounting services are among the top 10 contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the health system, according to analysis led…
Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan is a threat to our patients’ health
Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s scheme to build seven nuclear reactors has raised concerns about the high cost, the ongoing excess atmospheric carbon as we wait…
‘We haven’t seen anything like this’: Melioidosis deaths surge in wake of floods
Deaths from an unprecedented outbreak of melioidosis have climbed to 12 in recently flood-hit areas of north Queensland. In the past week alone, 25 new…
