EBM Analytics

Medical Algorithms Need Better Regulation Many do not require FDA approval, and those that do often do not undergo clinical trials

The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons is calling for the restoration of surgery in Victoria to minimise the growing waiting list for elective surgery in both public and private hospitals.

RACS has contacted the Victorian Department of Health with a proposal to work together on an agile and nuanced plan to support a rapid change to the current system and address the issue of elective surgery and waiting lists.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3xpgEhR

One in seven patients miss cancer surgery during COVID lockdowns HOME News, media releases & advocacy One in seven patients miss cancer surgery during COVID lockdowns - study One in seven patients miss cancer surgery during COVID lockdowns - study One in seven cancer patients around the world have missed out on poten...

The doctor will see you now: Eye gaze, conversation and patient engagement in the surgical outpatient clinic. An Australian observational cross‐sectional study We examined 182 video recordings of surgical outpatient consultations to report on the typical outpatient consultations and factors that may affect dynamics of it. Forty-eight (26.4%) patients brough...

‘Devastating career event’: scientists caught out by change to Australian Research Council fine print Researchers say a ban on preprint material citations in funding applications is a ‘remarkably stupid own-goal for Australian science’

RACS phases out gendered titles for surgeons HOME News, media releases & advocacy RACS phases out gendered titles for surgeons RACS phases out gendered titles for surgeons The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons is phasing out the use of gendered titles such as Mr or Ms and encouraging the use ...

Surgical applied anatomy: alive and kicking The application of anatomical knowledge remains central to the discipline of surgery as well as many other clinical specialties. Applied anatomy has undergone a renaissance with new modalities to tre...

Our own Cameron Begley helping to raise money for cancer research with a long drive in a reasonably-priced car...

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Science Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Science

Physiotherapists in the Princess Alexandra Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) have trialed a new therapy to get critically ill patients moving sooner to combat some of the well-known complications for ICU patients.

In-bed cycling is proving to be a promising intervention for patients which aims to reduce muscle weakness and function loss, a common occurrence for this patient cohort.

PA Hospital Senior Physiotherapist, Dr Marc Nickels, said in-bed cycling has been well accepted by patients, families and clinicians.

“In-bed cycling involves the patient’s legs being strapped into the machine which is positioned at the end of the bed,” he said. “The physiotherapist is then able to control the cycling motion and speed through the devices’ tablet”.

“It can commence while a patient is requiring advanced healthcare such as ventilation and before a patient is alert enough to follow demands,” he said.

The results of the randomised controlled trial at the tertiary ICU at PA Hospital were published last year.

QEII Hospital has become the first public hospital in Australia to offer state of the art knee replacement surgery with robotic surgical assistant, ROSA.

As the major arthroplasty centre in Brisbane’s south, the hospital is ideally situated to adopt the device to improve outcomes for patients undergoing knee replacement.

QEII Hospital Director of Orthopaedics, Dr Christopher Bell said ROSA is designed to assist surgeons with accuracy and tailoring cuts to the patient’s individual anatomy.

“This device is able to give the surgeon more accurate information on all aspects of the replacement, as well as assisting in performing the bone cuts to achieve an optimal result.

“After surgery, patients treated with the assistance of ROSA should experience better movement, less pain, and a more stable and trustworthy knee that enhances their quality of life,” Dr Bell said.

"Although the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing is a successful metal-on-metal (MoM) arthroplasty, there remains concerns about these implants due to disastrous outcomes associated with other MoM designs" http://ow.ly/w15D50CP0G9

"People tend to have opinions on preprints and whether they help or hinder progress in research. I’m an unabashed preprint advocate."
https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4703

“Two papers using the same data about the same topic were published in the same surgical journal one month apart. They came up with completely opposite conclusions.”
https://www.physiciansweekly.com/dangerous-pitfalls-of-database-research/

Don’t erase undergrad researchers and technicians from author lists Junior researchers contribute to science and deserve authorship credit, this grad student argues

The questions you need to ask when deciding between a physio, chiro, osteo and myo Physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths and myotherapists: who do you choose to help manage your aches and pains, and what are the differences? Charlotte Ganderton and Matthew King explain.

The dogtor has a borkchelor in medicine but patients' bones are oddly missing after they come out of the operation theatre....hmmmm

Covid-19 Research Scandals Illustrate What’s Wrong With Science A new book takes science to task, and it couldn’t come at a better time

"Examples included statements such as: 'the writing of this paper was atrocious,' 'this young lady is lucky to have been mentored by the leading men in the field'... 'the authors are clearly new to this field and it shows in this work.'” A look at unprofessional behavior in peer review.
https://researchintegrityjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41073-020-00096-x

Column: How a retracted research paper contaminated global coronavirus research Major retractions on coronavirus research show something is rotten in scientific publishing

"While hypoalbuminaemia and obesity both independently predict readmission and reoperation following total knee arthroplasty, hypoalbuminaemia is a far stronger predictor" say surgeons from https://online.boneandjoint.org.uk/doi/full/10.1302/0301-620X.102B6.BJJ-2019-1509.R1

NEJM places expression of concern on controversial study of drugs for COVID-19 As controversy swirls around two papers that used data from Surgisphere, the New England Journal of Medicine has placed an expression of concern on the relevant paper they published last month. Her…

"Outpatient total hip arthroplasty is safe for many patients & the risk of complications is not associated with the presence of medical comorbidities. The presence of comorbidities is, however, associated with increased need for overnight observation". http://ow.ly/hpf450zycp1

Whether you’re a clinician, researcher or an industry supplier, when was the last time you considered for your studies? We discuss the 3 key reasons why statistical planning matters, and why you should bring it into practice.

https://www.ebmanalytics.com.au/post/statistical-planning

We all love trends in data and transparency in science, so why do we hate what makes these possible? We’ve been conditioned to start thinking about statistics once we’ve got the data in hand, but the reality is, statistical planning should be undertaken at the very beginning of a research study, to inform every aspect of it.

What does it take to develop a successful program? Whether it's a short-term endeavour with your department or a long-term multi-institutional collaboration, our 6-point checklist is the ultimate tool to get you started!



https://www.ebmanalytics.com.au/post/developing-a-successful-research-program-the-ultimate-checklist

Developing a successful research program: The ultimate checklist We've helped a lot of clients build successful programs from the ground up, which is why we often get asked what the key ingredients required are. Here, we've summarised the six key things you need to get started.

While may not immediately help the current crisis, with the right data, it can help us better understand the virus to uncover treatment strategies and identify patients at risk of complications.



https://www.wired.com/story/researchers-deploy-ai-better-understand-coronavirus/

Researchers Will Deploy AI to Better Understand Coronavirus More than 2,000 papers have been published about the virus since December. It will take some smart algorithms to mine insights from them.

Misallocation of resources and long-term social and economic disruption are just some of the harms associated with misinformation and non-evidence-based measures to deal with the .



https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/eci.13222

In light of the , we've pulled together a list of resources for , and suppliers that may be helpful for those affected by, or are actively managing the current crisis:

https://www.ebmanalytics.com.au/covid-19

The Science of This Pandemic Is Moving at Dangerous Speeds Much of the research that emerges in the coming weeks will be turn out to be unreliable, even wrong. We'll be OK if we remember that.

As part of our response to COVID-19, we are currently reviewing the 4000+ outpatient appointments scheduled for next week. Depending on the nature of the appointment, some may be done with a clinician by phone or online, while others may be cancelled. If this affects your appointment, you will hear from us soon. Please resist the urge to phone us to check, we are currently experiencing a high number of phone calls, so we’d prefer people to wait until they hear from us first. Thank you for your understanding.