The St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire Definition of Chronic Bronchitis May Be a Better Predictor of COPD Exacerbations Compared With the Classic Definition.

Background: Chronic bronchitis (CB) increases risk of COPD exacerbations. We have shown that the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) CB definition identifies patients with a similar clinical phenotype as classically defined CB.

Augmenting ENT surgery outside the medical school curriculum: the role of a 1-day otolaryngology course.

Background: ENT is highly under-represented in the saturated UK medical school curriculum, comprising less than 1 per cent of the curriculum. A 1-day course was implemented in order to raise awareness of ENT among medical students, educate them in the specialty and teach a basic skill.

Methods: The skills day comprised lectures by consultants followed by a consultant-led workshop teaching tracheostomy.

Bats and Viruses: Emergence of Novel Lyssaviruses and Association of Bats with Viral Zoonoses in the EU.

Bats in the EU have been associated with several zoonotic viral pathogens of significance to both human and animal health. Virus discovery continues to expand the existing understating of virus classification, and the increased interest in bats globally as reservoirs or carriers of zoonotic agents has fuelled the continued detection and characterisation of new lyssaviruses and other viral zoonoses. Although the transmission of lyssaviruses from bat species to humans or terrestrial species appears rare, interest in these viruses remains, through their ability to cause the invariably fatal encephalitis-rabies.

Use of anti-platelet agents in the prevention of hepatic fibrosis in patients at risk for chronic liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Aims: While the association between platelet activation and hepatic fibrosis has been previously demonstrated in animal studies; the utility of anti-platelet agents in reversing the progression of hepatic fibrosis requires further review. Utilizing systematic review methods, we provide to our knowledge the first meta-analysis combining evidence from all studies aimed to establish the effect of anti-platelet agents in the prevention of hepatic fibrosis.

Methods: We searched Medline, EMBASE and PubMed databases from inception to October 2018 to identify all studies aimed at evaluating the role of anti-platelet agents in the prevention of hepatic fibrosis.

Identifying patient-important outcomes in medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder patients: a systematic review protocol.

Introduction: Illicit opioid use has become a national crisis in Canada, with over 65 000 people seeking treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) in Ontario and British Columbia alone. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is a common treatment for OUD. There is substantial variability in treatment outcomes used to evaluate effectiveness of MAT, making it difficult to establish clinically and scientifically relevant treatment effect.

A family with PTEN mutations with malignancy and an unusually high number of offspring with autism spectrum disorder: a case report.

Background: Cowden's syndrome (OMIM:158350), a rare genetic disorder (incidence ~ 1:250,000), is caused by mutations of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN. In this report, we describe clinical manifestations of a 56-year-old patient diagnosed with Cowden's syndrome and his family with PTEN mutations. The family has an unusually high number of offspring with autism spectrum disorder.

Genetic polymorphisms of the endocannabinoid system in obesity and diabetes.

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is involved in many physiological processes including fertility, pain and energy regulation. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the contribution of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the ECS to adiposity and glucose metabolism. Database searches identified 734 articles, of which 65 were included; these covered 70 SNPs in genes coding for cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB , CB ), fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and N-acyl phosphatidylethanolamine phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD).

The utility of drug reaction assessment trials for inhaled therapies in patients with chronic lung diseases.

Background: Current guidelines recommend a Drug Reaction Assessment (DRA) before beginning inhaled therapies to assess for bronchoconstriction and tolerability. There is limited evidence to support this recommendation.

Methods: In this study we aimed to establish the predictors of successful DRAs in different patient groups using a cohort of all DRAs performed in adults between 2011 and 2016 at the Royal Brompton Hospital.

An integrated 2-year clinical skills peer tutoring scheme in a UK-based medical school: perceptions of tutees and peer tutors.

Background: Several benefits of peer tutoring in medical school teaching have been described. However, there is a lack of research on the perceptions of peer tutoring, particularly from tutees who partake in a long-term clinical skills scheme integrated into the medical school curriculum. This study evaluates the opinions of preclinical tutees at the end of a 2-year peer-tutored clinical skills program and peer tutors themselves.

Clinical trial design and dissemination: comprehensive analysis of clinicaltrials.gov and PubMed data since 2005.

Objective: To investigate the distribution, design characteristics, and dissemination of clinical trials by funding organisation and medical specialty.

Design: Cross sectional descriptive analysis.

Data Sources: Trial protocol information from clinicaltrials.

Isolation, antigenicity and immunogenicity of Lleida bat lyssavirus.

The lyssaviruses are an important group of viruses that cause a fatal encephalitis termed rabies. The prototypic lyssavirus, rabies virus, is predicted to cause more than 60 000 human fatalities annually. The burden of disease for the other lyssaviruses is undefined.