Although anxiety disorders are common in later life, only a minority of patients receive appropriate treatment. The scarcity of clinical trials and decreasing effectiveness of current treatment modalities with advancing age, as shown by Wetherell and colleagues in this issue, argue for more clinical trials and development of age-specific psychotherapeutic techniques.

A program has been written to run on a pocket computer (Sharp PC-1500) that can be used at the bedside to predict the nutritional requirements of patients with a wide range of clinical conditions. The predictions of the program showed good correlation with measured values for energy and nitrogen requirements. The program was used, with good results, in the management of over 100 patients needin...

The early identification of the subtle signs of increased bioburden in a wound enables timely and appropriate treatment and therefore improved patient outcomes. The rising costs of antimicrobial dressings and the growth in antibiotic-resistant organisms increase the need for correct diagnosis. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics is a significant contributory factor in bacterial resistance. This a...

To solve a problem, a person often asks questions of someone with more expertise. This paper reports on a study of the types of questions asked and how the experts are chosen. In the study, sixty-three first-year medical students responded to clinical scenarios, each describing a patient affected by a toxin and asking questions concerning the identity of the toxin and its characteristics. After...

Contemporary debate on health care resource management is tied to a central moral issue: how to achieve an optimum level of reasonable or appropriate treatment based on the medical condition of each patient. Failure to tackle and resolve this issue in a confident and forthright manner ensures that the present approach to health care decision-making will continue in a state of indecisiveness if ...

BACKGROUND Although frail older people can be more reluctant to become involved in clinical decision making, they do want professionals to take their concerns and wishes into account. Discussing goals can help professionals to achieve this. OBJECTIVE To describe the development of a two-step method for discussing goals with frail older people in primary care and professionals' first experienc...