Specialty

Cardiology: Syncope is among the most common presentations to emergency departments in Australia, and many patients have a succession of tests that do not determine the underlying cause. When syncope remains undiagnosed and untreated, it can have severe consequences.  Among the types of syncope, cardiac syncope generally has the poorest prognosis. So, getting a diagnosis for these patients is crucial and urgent.

Cardiology: Despite following best practice, heart failure patients often develop life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias. Cardiac interventions to manage heart failure use state-of-the-art technology and the field is continuously changing. In this interview we will provide an overview of some non-pharmaceutical therapies for the management of cardiac arrythmias in patients with heart failure, as well as the importance of echocardiography, which has become an indispensable diagnostic and prognostic tool.

Cardiology: The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee (ACC/AHA) recently published updated clinical practice guidelines for the management of patients with valvular heart disease including patients with aortic stenosis (AS). AS, the most common valvular heart disease in developed countries, can be severe in its asymptomatic stages. And once symptoms become apparent, patients with untreated AS have an average survival of 2 to 3 years.

Cardiology: The sympathetic nervous system is a well-known contributor to the pathophysiology of resistant hypertension and renal denervation has emerged as an effective procedure to treat resistant hypertension by blocking the sympathetic nervous system. Since the first proof of concept studies in 2009, renal denervation has continued to be developed as an intervention for patients with resistant hypertension.

Epilepsy: Shortages of antiseizure medications happen reasonably frequently in Australia. Not surprisingly, this has the potential to lead to adverse patient outcomes. In this interview we discuss the impact of shortages in the form of involuntary brand switches, the impact this has on patients, including which patients are most affected, and steps that we, as prescribers, can take to avoid the negative consequences of brand switching.

Until now, for patients with cardiovascular risk factors, postpartum mothers, or for those in whom their doctors want to avoid oestrogen, there have been limited oral contraceptive options to offer. In this interview we will be exploring new progesterone only contraceptive options for women.

Preterm birth is the single greatest cause of death in young children in Australia. It is also a major cause of disabilities including deafness, blindness, cerebral palsy and learning difficulties. While this information is not new to us, there is a general lack of awareness about the importance of preterm birth in the community. Over the last twenty years the rates of preterm births have been rising in Australia, making this issue more pressing. In this interview we discuss ways we can safely lower the rate of preterm births.

In recent years, there have been significant advances in gene therapy for retinal disease including progress in targeting particular retinal cell types and the development of more efficient gene therapy vectors. Advances in the technology and in our understanding of the genetic basis of retinal diseases suggests we may be at the dawn of a new therapeutic era in ophthalmology. In this interview we discuss cutting edge research into novel gene therapy strategies.

The Royal Australian New Zealand College of Psychiatrists released updated clinical practice guidelines for mood disorders in 2021. In this interview we’re talking with one of the co-authors of the guidelines, about the changes with particular emphasis on the sometimes controversial additions, and new sections such as the seven ‘Choice’ antidepressants, circadian function as a potential intervention target, and moving away from the term treatment-resistant depression.

It’s well established that cognitive functioning can be significantly affected in people with all mental illnesses and cognitive impairment is one of the known symptoms of schizophrenia. Cognitive deficits significantly impact our patients’ overall functioning, quality of life, but earlier treatment and functional recovery may help improve outcomes. In this interview we talk about cognitive impairment in mental illness, the value of cognitive assessment tools and treatments that can improve cognitive functioning in people with schizophrenia, with a focus on lurasidone.