Helping to improve clinical risk, reduce litigation risk and improve healthcare standards.

This article discusses the problems that arise from inadequate information regarding a patient’s history and examination, leading to the patient dealing with complications of sepsis due to the delay in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis after an initial diagnosis of gastroenteritis.

This article discusses the problems that may arise from severe vitamin D deficiency and the international guidelines that highly recommend that all adults should supplement to avoid complications that may be caused by this deficiency.

Jaundice in new-born babies is a common occurrence (60% of term babies and 80% of preterm infants) and is usually not harmful. Jaundice is caused by a build-up of bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is a yellow/orange pigment produced following the breakdown of red blood cells and as babies have a lot of red blood cells in their blood, the baby’s liver is not as effective at removing bilirubin from the blood so they can be passed in the baby’s stool. Usually at around the two weeks old, new-borns are producing less bilirubin and the liver is far more effective at removing this from the blood.

Tumour growth is conventionally understood to follow exponential kinetics in many medico-legal courts and summaries. According to this model, the time required for one cell to divide into two is equivalent to that required for two to form four, four to form eight, and so forth. As such, people from claimants to plaintiffs, physicians to patients, and scientists to laymen alike mistakenly assume that, upon determining the doubling time of a hepatic tumour, to give a typical example, the tumour would have likely been present “years ago” in the liver, and the cancer was thus “incurable” years ago. Alas, some say, there was no point in screening, testing, and diagnosing the primary tumour earlier, as it was fatal all along, owing to its metastatic spread. In other words, the patient’s tumour was metastatic well in advance of diagnosis and, hence, there would not have been any prospect of cure with earlier detection.

Strep A (group A streptococcus) is a highly contagious bacteria that can cause different infections ranging from minor illness to death in a very small number of cases. Often people can carry the bacteria without developing any illness. Strep A can be prevented though good hygiene but there is no preventative vaccine. The bacteria are often found in the throat and the skin hence it may be caught through close contact and via respiratory droplets.

Patients who suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee experience excessive wearing of the meniscus and articular cartilage. This is measured in grades from I-IV, from soft cartilage to cartilage worn down to the bone. This cartilage provides shock absorption and allows the bones to slide over each other. This damage can limit the ability of the knee to function properly.