Medscape – Bianca Nogrady

Australian blood service removes sexual activity wait times for most plasma donors

September 16, 2025No Comments

From Medscape Medical News, 29 August 2025: Gay and bisexual men, including those taking preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV infection, can now donate plasma in Australia without any waiting period after recent sexual activity, according to new donation criteria from the government-funded blood supply organization Lifeblood. Lifeblood is also moving toward gender-neutral sexual activity … Continue reading Australian blood service removes sexual activity wait times for most plasma donors

Osteoarthritis has a placebo problem, and it’s challenging both research and clinical practice

June 23, 2025No Comments

From Medscape Medical News, 18 June 2025: At the recent World Congress on Osteoarthritis (OARSI) 2025 Annual Meeting in Incheon, South Korea, speaker after speaker presented on studies that were carefully designed to identify even the smallest benefit of interventions, including drugs, physical therapy, exercise therapy, and even surgery, compared with placebo. And in many cases, the … Continue reading Osteoarthritis has a placebo problem, and it’s challenging both research and clinical practice

Early smartphone-activated bystander CPR can boost survival

June 23, 2025No Comments

From Medscape Medical News, 13 June 2025: An app that alerts bystanders trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to a nearby out-of-hospital cardiac arrest can increase survival if volunteer responders arrive before emergency medical services (EMS), according to an Australian study. The analysis of more than 9000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Victoria, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, showed that, … Continue reading Early smartphone-activated bystander CPR can boost survival

Flooding triggers major melioidosis outbreak in Australia

May 27, 2025No Comments

From Medscape Medical News, 19 May 2025: Australia has recorded its highest number of cases of the tropical bacterial infection melioidosis, which is thought to have been triggered by major rainfall and flooding. The outbreak has placed pressure on already strained hospitals in the area. The northeastern state of Queensland has recorded an unprecedented 215 … Continue reading Flooding triggers major melioidosis outbreak in Australia

Novel shoe intervention may cut low back pain, delay knee arthroplasty in osteoarthritis

May 7, 2025No Comments

From Medscape Medical News, 6 May 2025: A shoe-based biomechanical intervention worn for a short time each day may achieve greater improvements in low back pain and greater reductions in the risk for total knee replacement surgery than standard physical therapy, according to two studies presented at the World Congress on Osteoarthritis (OARSI) 2025 Annual … Continue reading Novel shoe intervention may cut low back pain, delay knee arthroplasty in osteoarthritis

Australian politicians promise billions for healthcare

March 13, 2025No Comments

From Medscape Medical News, 10 March 2025: Medicare, Australia’s national health insurance scheme, is set for its biggest boost in funding since its creation half a century ago, as both major political parties promise billions ahead of this year’s federal election. The incumbent Labor government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, announced an AU$8.5 billion … Continue reading Australian politicians promise billions for healthcare

Australian junior doctors protest working conditions

February 25, 2025No Comments

From Medscape Medical News, 14 February 2025: Junior doctors in Australia’s largest state are on the brink of strike action over working conditions, after a hospital administrator derided them as “clinical marshmallows [sic]” in a leaked email. The email from an administrator at John Hunter Hospital in New Lambton Heights, Australia, was commenting on a … Continue reading Australian junior doctors protest working conditions

Australian public psychiatrists resign en masse

January 31, 2025No Comments

From Medscape, 22 January 2025: More than half of psychiatrists working in public mental health in Australia’s largest state have resigned in response to what they say is years of unresolved workforce shortages and underresourcing. The mass resignations encompass more than 180 of the nearly 300 psychiatrists in New South Wales. The clinicians left their … Continue reading Australian public psychiatrists resign en masse

Platelet-rich plasma injections show no benefit in knee OA in placebo-controlled trial

December 22, 2021December 22, 2021No Comments

From Medscape, 23 November 2021: A large randomized, placebo-controlled trial of platelet-rich plasma injections for knee osteoarthritis has found almost no symptomatic or structural benefit from the treatment, giving some clarity to an evidence base that has seen both positive and negative trials for the treatment modality. Given the need for better disease-modifying treatments for … Continue reading Platelet-rich plasma injections show no benefit in knee OA in placebo-controlled trial

Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections Show No Benefit in Knee OA in Placebo-Controlled Trial

November 29, 2021No Comments

From Medscape, 23 November 2021: A large randomized, placebo-controlled trial of platelet-rich plasma injections for knee osteoarthritis has found almost no symptomatic or structural benefit from the treatment, giving some clarity to an evidence base that has seen both positive and negative trials for the treatment modality. Given the need for better disease-modifying treatments for … Continue reading Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections Show No Benefit in Knee OA in Placebo-Controlled Trial