Things in the library 13th October...

Things about very low birthweight...
A recent article in The Journal of Pediatrics evaluated the impact of major neonatal morbidities on the risks for rehospitalization in children and adolescents born of very low birth weight. They concluded  specific major neonatal morbidities as well as the number of morbidities were associated with excess risks of rehospitalization through childhood and adolescence. The full details can be found here


Things about medical apps...

(c) Jannie Iivonen

This article by Matt Burgess, of Wired, explains how they tested the symptom checkers of Ada, Babylon and Your.MD to find out how reliable they really are.
The work concluded that 34 per cent of the time the checkers managed to make the correct diagnosis. Within the top 20 diagnosis given, they were correct 58 per cent of the time. Care advice was correct almost two-thirds of the times (ranging from 33 per cent to 78 per cent).


Things about other health librarians...
A day in the life of a Welsh health librarian is detailed here as part of Libraries week - she was shortlisted for Welsh Librarian of the Year and one of the comments in her nomination was:
“... I have found in my 17 years of working as a consultant and the five preceding years as a registrar the one certain and sure source of knowledge and wisdom was via Isabel...I would state categorically that any health organisation that wishes to be innovative must not merely invest in excellent library services (including an extensive stock of books and journals) but also reward and support librarians like Isabel.  Put simply without an Isabel no organisation can be truly innovative.”
Dr Mark Temple, Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (CDSC).
We are always grateful for the comments and feedback we receive - if we have had an impact on your work please let us know.

Things about sharing health info with children...

The Patient Information Forum is holding an event in London on 'Health Information for Children and Young People' on Friday 3 November 2017. If you have any queries about this event please contact admin@pifonline.org.uk. The event will share learning, best practice and good examples of:

• Innovative approaches to sharing information with children and young people
• Co-creating and involving children/young people in the development of health information
• Top tips for engaging with (or writing for) different age groups

Things about eggs...

You probably heard in the news this week that UK Lion mark eggs have been declared safe for pregnant women and young children, nearly 30 years after a salmonella scare. More information and link to the full report..

More Things to eat...

(c) Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

A nice vegetarian meal 'Lasagna With Spicy Roasted Cauliflower' which I spotted on NewYork Times website this week. Some of the measurements are in cups but I think it will be easy to follow. It mentions Marinara sauce - a name I wasn't familiar with - but basically any preferred tomato/onion/garlic/herb sauce that you would normally use. In fact according to Wikipedia "Marinara sauce is an Italian tomato sauce that originated in Naples, usually made with tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions. Its many variations can include the addition of capers, olives, spices, and a dash of wine"

Things in the library 22 Sept...

Things to eat...
Enjoy fantastic food at great prices during Dine Sheffield. Starting Thursday, 21 September, foodie’s can sample the cuisine of almost 50 restaurants and cafes throughout the city centre. Participating restaurants include established favourites, independent eateries and unique cafes. Diners will enjoy menus created especially for the week at a cost of either £5, £10 or £15.
The restaurants taking part include Marco’s Italian by Marco Pierre White, gourmet brasserie Browns and meat lover’s paradise Smoke Barbecue. They are joined by some of the city centre’s favourite restaurants and cafes such as tapas restaurant and bar Cubana, popular Indian restaurant Aagrah, new kid on the block Firepit BBQ, El Paso and Silversmiths.


Things about split families...
This article studies shared physical custody in Sweden, the country in the world where the phenomenon is most prevalent. They ask whether children in shared physical custody settings are more likely to report high levels of stress compared to children living in sole custody. The analysis is based on data with combined information from parents, children, and administrative registers. The models are controlled control for interparental as well as parent–child relationship quality and parents’ income. The results show that children sharing residence equally have lower likelihood of experiencing high levels of stress. The results can be interpreted as evidence for a positive effect of continuing everyday-like parental relationships after a family dissolution.

Things about Pediatric tracheotomy...
In this retrospective study, to assess outcomes of pediatric tracheotomy and duration of associated hospital stay according to indications, subjects were 142 consecutive pediatric patients (<18 years old) who underwent tracheotomy at a tertiary referral medical center, National Taiwan University Hospital, in 1997–2012. Age, sex, indications, pre-operative status (oxygen demand, number of repeated intubations), and post-operative status (duration of weaning, length of hospital stay, mortality) were analyzed. They conclude that outcomes of pediatric tracheotomy and duration of hospitalization depend on indications. Children with craniofacial anomalies had earlier tracheotomy age and longer mechanical ventilation before tracheotomy resulted in longer hospitalization. Earlier tracheotomy can shorten the duration of post-tracheotomy mechanical ventilation in several conditions.

Things about antibiotics...

A report, "Antibacterial agents in clinical development – an analysis of the antibacterial clinical development pipeline, including tuberculosis", launched this week by WHO shows a serious lack of new antibiotics under development to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Most of the drugs currently in the clinical pipeline are modifications of existing classes of antibiotics and are only short-term solutions. The report found very few potential treatment options for those antibiotic-resistant infections identified by WHO as posing the greatest threat to health, including drug-resistant tuberculosis which kills around 250 000 people each year.
"Antimicrobial resistance is a global health emergency that will seriously jeopardize progress in modern medicine," says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. "There is an urgent need for more investment in research and development for antibiotic-resistant infections including TB, otherwise we will be forced back to a time when people feared common infections and risked their lives from minor surgery."
In addition to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, WHO has identified 12 classes of priority pathogens – some of them causing common infections such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections – that are increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics and urgently in need of new treatments.

Things about birthweight...
An e-pub this week in Acta Paediatrica looks at "Outcomes of infants with a birthweight less than or equal to 500 g in Northern England: 15 years experience" . They aimed to evaluate mortality and short-term neonatal morbidity of babies born ≤500 g cared for in the Northern Neonatal Network over a 15-year period.
They say "In conclusion, we have shown that survival to a year in babies born weighing ≤500 g and ≥22 weeks over the past 15 years is poor. This could be due to a combination of attitudes towards resuscitation and intensive care, or the intrinsic nature of these tiny babies. Manufacturers of equipment and devices should attempt to further miniaturise their products for neonatal intensive care so  that optimal monitoring and management can be offered to this exceptionally vulnerable group of babies, and survival can perhaps be improved."

Things we have achieved...
The University of Sheffield has recognised the work our staff did to make such a success of our 'Book a Librarian' campaign this year and is rewarding us with lunch. This means we will be closed from 12:00 to 14:00 on Wed 27th Sept. Apologies for any inconvenience - when we reopen we will be staying open to the normal 19:00...but we might need a bit of a snooze during the afternoon ...so please don't ask us anything too difficult!


Food for students...

Whether it is trying to walk 'the wrong way' past the hospital against the flow of freshers...or whether your own youngsters have flown the nest...you can't help but notice that the student term has begun again. So if you are, or know someone who is, a student why not look at these  easy recipes... more exciting than beans on toast....but with simple instructions and videos for the non-cook ..and why not try some yourself too. Here is a great simple tomato sauce