Anaphylaxis in children and young people
Anaphylaxis is an extreme and life-threatening allergic response which requires rapid treatment and close monitoring. This article discusses the common signs of anaphylaxis in children and young peopl...
The impact of community pharmacy-led medicines management support for people with COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common long-term condition involving restricted airflow, which reduces quality of life. Treatments include lifestyle changes (smoking cessation), pulm...
Understanding bariatric surgery to support patients in primary care
The relatively new field of bariatric surgery is increasingly used as an option to address issues linked to obesity. Practice nurses must understand how they can manage patients who have undergone the...
Delivering chemotherapy at home: how much do we know?
Ambulatory chemotherapy offers many advantages from supporting a closer to home treatment approach to lowering the cost of care. Ambulatory devices such as elastomeric pumps can deliver prolonged infu...
Sociological and psychological effects of stillbirth: theory, research, and midwifery
Stillbirth rates in the UK remain among the highest in Europe despite national efforts to reduce the number of avoidable deaths. The grief experienced by parents following stillbirth is both devastati...
Understanding influenza and its complications
Influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by specific viruses. Most people recover from fever and other symptoms within a week without any features of complicated influenza. However, it is ...
Skin conditions in older people: assessment and management
The Office for National Statistics stated that in the UK 18% of people were over 65 years old and 2.4% were over 85 years old. Furthermore, the number of people over 90 years old had rapidly increased...
Opioid use disorder and chronic pain: challenges for palliative care practice
Along with a well-documented increase in opioid use disorder (OUD) and a rapidly escalating rate of fatal overdose in North America, inadequate management of chronic pain remains a pervasive problem. ...
The relationship between interpersonal trauma and substance misuse in pregnancy
There is a strong body of evidence supporting associations between interpersonal trauma (IPT) and substance use; however, this tends to focus on associations between childhood trauma and substance use...
People with learning disabilities accessing maternity services
From September 2018–June 2019, I was fortunate enough to undertake a research internship with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). My chosen topic was ‘people with learning disabilities ...
Nutrition in kidney transplant recipients to prevent downstream health issues
Kidney transplantation is an excellent treatment option for many patients, providing a quality of life that is superior to that experienced by patients on dialysis. Despite its advantages, there are c...
Prescribing challenges following bariatric surgery
Obesity is an increasing problem in the UK, with over half of the population being overweight or obese. The use of gastric surgery is increasing, with a 5% increase in 2016/17 compared to 2015/16. How...