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Found 205 results
  1. Content Article
    In this article, Nicholas T H Farr, research fellow at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield, looks at the need for improved preclinical testing methods to ensure the safety of new medical devices. He highlights cases where lack of testing has led to significant harm to patients and argues that to reduce the risk to patients, the research community needs rigorous and comprehensive testing methods that can more accurately predict how the human body will respond to implantable materials and devices. Nicholas has previously written for the hub, in this blog about the importance of investing in the development of testing methods to ensure medical devices are safe to use.
  2. News Article
    More than one million extra women could have life-saving cervical-cancer checks if the NHS adopted do-it-yourself testing, researchers estimate. The team at King’s College London said the results of its self-testing trial were “fantastic” and “gave power to women”. The kits are like a Covid swab but longer and are posted to a lab for analysis. The NHS called the findings extremely positive and is assessing whether to roll out the scheme. There are more than 3,000 new cases of cervical cancer in the UK each year. “Cervical cancer screening has been in decline for the last 20 years,” a senior consultant on the trial, Mairead Lyons, said. "Many women will describe it as an uncomfortable experience [or they are] too busy, embarrassed or afraid of the physical experience of it." NHS England screening and vaccination director Deborah Tomalin called the trial results “extremely promising”. “The NHS will now be working with the UK National Screening Committee to consider the feasibility of rolling this out more widely across England,” she said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 17 July 2024
  3. News Article
    The NHS has been told it can start using a new digital test to speed up the diagnosis of ADHD in children and young people, which up to now could often take several years. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued draft guidance approving the use of the QbTest by psychiatrists and specialist children’s doctors. The computer-based test measures the three main characteristics of ADHD: inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Clinicians can use the results alongside other information they have gathered to help them diagnose, or rule out, that a young person has the condition. NICE said the test could be used when diagnosing six- to 17-year-olds in England and Wales. Experts welcomed the move, saying the QbTest would help doctors diagnose more people within six months of them first being assessed. Dr Jessica Eccles, the chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ neurodevelopmental special interest group, said: “People who suspect they may have ADHD often have to wait months or even years for an assessment which can prevent them from accessing timely and effective care. Any new evidence-based tools should be used to reduce these unacceptable waiting times and improve the availability of support.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 16 July 2024
  4. News Article
    A sexual health nurse who failed to tell patients and their partners of positive test results for sexually transmitted infections should be struck off, a professional hearing was told. David Allen made incorrect entries and omitted information when updating patient records, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) heard. Mr Allen, who worked at Wakefield Integrated Sexual Health Services, also posted abusive and inappropriate messages about colleagues online. The NMC found his actions could have resulted in a real risk of harm to patients and had been "a flagrant departure from the standards expected of a registered nurse". The NMC panel, which met earlier in July, heard the discrepancies dated back to 2018 and involved 18 cases. When a person has tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease, guidelines said any current or past sexual partners should be informed, which is called partner notification. The NMC panel found that on 18 occasions, Mr Allen had failed to complete the partner notification and had falsely indicated he had done so. Read full story Source: BBC News, 15 July 2024
  5. News Article
    A simple blood test using artificial intelligence to predict Parkinson's disease years before symptoms begin has been developed by researchers. They hope it can lead to a cheap, finger-prick test providing early diagnoses - and help find treatments to slow down the disease. Charity Parkinson's UK said it was "a major step forward" in the search for a non-invasive patient-friendly test, but larger trials are needed to prove its accuracy. “At present we are shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted," senior author Prof Kevin Mills, from UCL's Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said. "We need to start experimental treatments before patients develop symptoms." Co-author Dr Jenny Hällqvist, from UCL, said: "People are diagnosed when neurons are already lost. "We need to protect those neurons, not wait till they are gone." Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 June 2024
  6. News Article
    London pathology providers are “running too hot” to give enough support the large system hit by a cyber attack last week, HSJ has been told. HSJ has learnt that all the capital’s pathology services have now been approached to help Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital after the IT systems for their provider Synnovis went down, the pressure on the capital’s labs and technical issues limited what help could be given. But one senior manager told HSJ: “Many trusts are keen to help but their hands are tied. The difficulties are that so many medium-sized NHS labs are already running hot and have not got the capacity." HSJ was told there was significant clinical risk in primary care as well. Routine tests that might have picked up something important are not happening and one manager said: “Patients in primary care include those in nursing homes – blood tests and test for infections can be the only way to work out why a frail patient is deteriorating.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 17 June 2024
  7. News Article
    An £8m prize for a breakthrough in the fight against superbugs has been awarded, after a decade-long search for a winner, to a test that can identify how to treat a urinary tract infection in 45 minutes. The test could herald a “sea change” in antibiotic use, the judges said as they announced the winner of the Longitude prize on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR, where the drugs used to treat infections no longer work, is a growing concern. It leads to the deaths of nearly 1.3 million people worldwide annually and is predicted to cause 10 million deaths a year by 2050. Between 50% and 60% of women will experience at least one urinary tract infection (UTI) in their lifetime, and up to half of the bacteria that cause the infections are resistant to at least one antibiotic. The infections can cause potentially fatal sepsis. However, a lack of good, quick tests means doctors often have to diagnose an infection based on symptoms and guess which antibiotic will work. The inappropriate use of antibiotics drives resistance by giving bacteria opportunities to adapt to evade them. The winning Sysmex Astrego’s PA-100 AST system is based on technology from Uppsala University in Sweden. A 400-microlitre sample of urine is placed on a phone-sized cartridge and then into a shoebox-sized analyser unit. It can spot bacterial infection within 15 minutes, and identify the antibiotic to treat it within 45 minutes. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 June 2024
  8. News Article
    “Outdated” guidance on prostate cancer could be putting men’s lives at risk, a charity has said. Prostate Cancer UK said that men at high risk of the disease can get a test, but only if they request one. It said that GPs are told not to raise the issue with men unless they have symptoms. But most men with early prostate cancer – when it is easiest to treat – do not have any signs or symptoms. Chiara De Biase, director of health services, equity and improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “We simply can’t continue with a system where men at high risk of prostate cancer can get a test – but only if they know to request one. “This outdated guidance is failing both men and their clinicians, making health inequalities worse and putting lives at risk. It’s about time that changed. She added: “We know that a lot of men don’t come forward because they think they’ll be invited as part of routine tests – when this simply isn’t true". Read full story Source: The Independent, 12 June 2024
  9. Content Article
    FebriDx® is a single-use, analyser-free, point-of-care test with markers for bacterial and viral infection, measured on a finger-prick blood sample. As part of a larger feasibility study, this study explored the views of healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients on the use of FebriDx® to safely reduce antibiotic prescriptions for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in primary care. The authors concluded that the tool was perceived as a useful in guiding antibiotic prescribing and supporting shared decision making. Initial practical problems with testing and communicating results are potential barriers to use. Training and practice on using the test and effective communication are likely to be important elements in ensuring patient understanding and satisfaction and successful adoption.
  10. Content Article
    This podcast looks at preventing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) outbreaks within healthcare facilities and strategies to minimise transmission of RSV among healthcare workers and patients during an outbreak. 
  11. News Article
    Thousands of people who are unknowingly living with hepatitis C in England could be identified and treated due to an expanded NHS testing initiative. The initiative includes new liver scanning and portable testing units to be rolled out in communities where people may be at a higher risk of contracting the infection. Also included in the initiative are testing events happening at GP surgeries and community outreach at drug and alcohol support services. Read full story Source: Guardian 8 April 2024
  12. News Article
    Millions of people are being urged to get checks for a condition which has been described as the “silent killer”. If left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and vascular dementia. Up to 4.2 million people in England are thought to be living with high blood pressure without knowing it – around a third of all those with the condition. Now, a new NHS Get Your Blood Pressure Checked campaign has been launched, backed by health charities, to warn people the condition often has no symptoms. England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, said: “High blood pressure usually has no symptoms but can lead to serious health consequences. “The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to get a simple, non-invasive blood pressure test. “Even if you are diagnosed, the good news is that it’s usually easily treatable. “Getting your blood pressure checked at a local pharmacy is free, quick and you don’t even need an appointment, so please go for a check today – it could save your life.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 March 2024
  13. Content Article
    This consensus statement co-ordinated by the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA) outlines the role of point of care testing in reducing the amount of antibiotics prescribed in primary care. It highlights the issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and outlines evidence for the effectiveness of the rapid point-of-care C-Reactive Protein (POC CRP) test to assist clinical decision making as to whether an individual presenting with symptoms of respiratory tract infection needs an antibiotic. It makes a series of recommendations for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England around the use of POC CRP testing in primary care.
  14. News Article
    A test that can detect oesophageal cancer at an earlier stage than current methods should be made more widely available to prevent deaths, charities have said. The capsule sponge test, previously known as Cytosponge, involves a patient swallowing a dissolvable pill on a string. The pill then releases a sponge which collects cells from the oesophagus as it is retrieved. The test can detect abnormalities that form as part of a condition known as Barrett’s oesophagus, which makes a person more likely to develop oesophageal cancer. In the UK 9,300 people are diagnosed with oesophageal cancer a year, according to Cancer Research. The disease is difficult to detect because the symptoms for the cancer are not easily recognisable – and can be mistaken for indigestion – until a it is at an advanced stage. The capsule sponge test can detect the cancer at an earlier stage than the current methods, such as an endoscopy, used to diagnose oesophageal cancer. However, it is only currently available to higher-risk patients as an alternative to endoscopy as part of NHS pilot schemes. Cancer Research UK is working with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) on a trial that will recruit 120,000 people to see if the capsule sponge test can reduce deaths from oesophageal cancer. If successful, the test could be rolled out more widely. Mimi McCord, the founder of Heartburn Cancer UK, who lost her husband, Mike, to oesophageal cancer in 2002, said: “Cancer of the oesophagus is a killer that can hide in plain sight. People don’t always realise it, but not all heartburn is harmless. While they keep on treating the symptoms, the underlying cause might be killing them.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 February 2024
  15. News Article
    A blood test for detecting Alzheimer’s disease could be just as accurate as painful and invasive lumbar punctures and could revolutionise diagnosis of the condition, research suggests. Measuring levels of a protein called p-tau217 in the blood could be just as good as lumbar punctures at detecting the signs of Alzheimer’s, and better than a range of other tests under development, experts say. The protein is a marker for biological changes that happen in the brain with Alzheimer’s disease. Dr Richard Oakley, an associate director of research and innovation at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This study is a hugely welcome step in the right direction as it shows that blood tests can be just as accurate as more invasive and expensive tests at predicting if someone has features of Alzheimer’s disease in their brain. “Furthermore, it suggests results from these tests could be clear enough to not require further follow-up investigations for some people living with Alzheimer’s disease, which could speed up the diagnosis pathway significantly in future. However, we still need to see more research across different communities to understand how effective these blood tests are across everyone who lives with Alzheimer’s disease.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 23 January 2024
  16. News Article
    Scientists are hoping a new 45-minute blood test can quickly identify sepsis before it kills. Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection. It occurs when the body overreacts and starts attacking its own tissues and organs. The hard-to-diagnose condition kills nearly 50,000 Brits a year more than breast, prostate and bowel cancer combined - with severe cases taking just hours to prove fatal. Dr Andrew Retter, an intensive care consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, who is trialling the test told The Times: “If someone comes into A&E and they’re sick, we can spot that early and start treatment early. “For every hour antibiotics are delayed, people’s mortality goes up by about 7 or 8 per cent if they’ve got sepsis.” Melissa Mead’s one-year-old son William died after weeks of a lingering cough and concerns were dismissed by doctors and 111 operators. The campaigner told The Times: “A test like this at the point of care in A&E, for example, could remove the uncertainty about sepsis, which presents differently in different people. “This could give people a chance at life that my son never had.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 17 December 2023
  17. News Article
    Opt-out blood tests for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C will be rolled out to a further 46 hospitals across England, the government has announced. Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said the new £20m programme would lead to earlier diagnoses and treatment. Under the scheme, anyone having a blood test in selected hospital A&E units has also been tested for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, unless they opted out. The trials have been taking place for the last 18 months in 33 hospitals in London, Greater Manchester, Sussex and Blackpool, where prevalence is classed by the NHS as "very high". Figures released by the NHS earlier show those pilots have identified more than 3,500 cases of the three bloodborne infections since April 2022, including more than 580 HIV cases. Ms Atkins said: "The more people we can diagnose, the more chance we have of ending new transmissions of the virus and the stigma wrongly attached to it." She added that rolling out the tests to more hospitals would help ensure early diagnoses so people "can be given the support and the medical treatment they need to live not just longer lives but also higher quality lives". Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 November 2023
  18. Content Article
    Cancer Research UK has set out how the next UK Government could dramatically improve cancer outcomes and prevent 20,000 cancer deaths a year by 2040.  'Longer better lives: A manifesto for cancer research and care' has been developed with the insights of cancer patients and experts from across health, life sciences, government and academic sectors.   The charity said that huge strides have been made in beating cancer – with survival in the UK doubling over the last 50 years.  But it warned that with NHS cancer services in crisis and around half a million new cancer cases each year expected by 2040 – this hard-won progress is at risk of stalling.    With the UK lagging behind comparable countries when it comes to cancer survival, the charity is calling on all political parties to make cancer a top priority in their party manifestos. 
  19. News Article
    It was hailed as a cutting-edge laboratory that would play a key role in response to Covid-19 and future epidemics, carrying out 300,000 tests a day. Announcing the project in November 2020, then-health secretary Matt Hancock said the project “confirms the UK as a world leader in diagnostics”. But less than 18 months later, the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory – named in honour of the renowned British scientist – has been plagued by failure while costing almost twice as much as its initial £588m budget, The Independent understands. Instead of being at the forefront of the fight against Covid, the project opened six months late, facing a string of issues with equipment, staff and construction, with barely 20% of its touted capacity being reached. Now, as the government winds down its “lighthouse” testing labs as part of the plan to “live with Covid”, leaving the Leamington Spa facility as the last lab standing, there are questions about the future of the site – and whether it would be able to cope with the nation’s testing needs alone if another deadly wave of Covid were to emerge. Read full story Source: The Independent, 28 April 2022
  20. News Article
    A dramatic drop in testing for Covid-19 has left the world blind to the virus’s continuing rampage and its potentially dangerous mutations, the head of the World Health Organization has warned. The UN health agency said that reported Covid cases and deaths had been dropping dramatically. “Last week, just over 15,000 deaths were reported to WHO – the lowest weekly total since March 2020,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. While saying this was “a very welcome trend”, he warned that the declining numbers could also be a result of significant cuts in testing for the virus. “As many countries reduce testing, WHO is receiving less and less information about transmission and sequencing,” he said. “This makes us increasingly blind to patterns of transmission and evolution." “When it comes to a deadly virus, ignorance is not bliss.” William Rodriguez, who heads the global diagnostics alliance FIND, also decried that many governments in recent months simply stopped looking for Covid cases. Speaking at the press conference hosted by WHO, he pointed out that in the past four months, amid surging Covid cases from the Omicron variant, “testing rates have plummeted by 70% to 90% worldwide”. The plunging testing rates came despite the fact that there is now more access to accurate testing than ever before. “We have an unprecedented ability to know what is happening,” Rodriguez said. “And yet today, because testing has been the first casualty of a global decision to let down our guard, we’re becoming blind to what is happening with this virus.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 26 April 2022
  21. News Article
    Pregnant women should be tested for Group B Strep to save the lives of dozens of babies every year, campaigners have warned. Group B Strep is the most recurrent cause of life-threatening illness in newborn babies, with an average of two babies a day identified with the infection. Each week, one of these babies goes on to die while another develops an ongoing long-term disability. More than one in five women carry Group B Strep, a common bacteria that normally causes no harm and no symptoms. However, its presence in the vagina or rectum means babies can be exposed to it during labour and birth. Pregnant women in Britain are not routinely tested for its presence, but a trial led by the University of Nottingham is examining whether such a move would be effective. Campaigners have called for more hospitals to join the pilot to ensure it is successful. Jane Plumb, chief executive of campaign group Group B Strep Support, said: “It’s taken over 20 years of campaigning to get this trial commissioned. It’s devastating that only 30 of the 80 hospitals needed have signed up. We can’t let this trial fail. “We need to fight for the 800 babies per year that are infected with this too-often-deadly infection. We need more hospitals to take part. We need to rally together and get this trial over the finish line.” Ms Plumb said the majority of Group B Strep infections in babies are preventable. “If we don’t know, then they can’t be offered the protective antibiotics in labour,” she said. “Families so often tell us that the first time they hear of Group B Strep is after their baby falls ill. For a mostly preventable infection, this is unforgivable – and must change. “We want to encourage every hospital to take part. We need people to ask for their MP’s support. This is an opportunity to save so many babies’ lives, but we only have six months to get hospitals on board. It really is now or never.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 19 April 2022
  22. News Article
    Patients are being put at risk in the UK because very few sexually transmitted infection (STI) tests offered online meet official standards, experts have warned. The NHS provides free in-person tests for STIs via its network of sexual health and genitourinary medicine clinics. Patients can also order tests via the internet from both NHS-commissioned and private providers, a practice that has become increasingly popular during the pandemic. However, new research in the Sexually Transmitted Infections journal published by the BMJ found that few online STI test services meet national recommended standards, with independent sector providers the least likely to be compliant. Online tests involve the user ordering a kit and either self-sampling by posting the specimen for laboratory analysis, or self-testing by interpreting the test themselves. The research found that the commercial self-sample providers, which advertised to those with symptoms, did not differentiate by STI symptom severity, and eight – seven private and one NHS-commissioned provider – offered no advice on accessing preventive treatment after exposure to HIV as recommended. Self-test providers did not appear to offer any form of order of treatment for patients and five offered tests that were intended for professional use only. The research concluded: “Regulatory change is required to ensure that the standard of care received online meets national guidelines to protect patients and the wider population from the repercussions of underperforming or inappropriate tests." “If we do not act now, patients will continue to receive suboptimal care with potentially significant adverse personal, clinical and public health implications.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 April 2022
  23. News Article
    Overstretched hospitals are stopping routine Covid tests for new patients as “brutal” pressures mount on doctors and nurses, The Independent understands. On Monday there were 1,702 new Covid admissions to hospitals in England as of 9 April – with 16,442 positive patients occupying beds – the NHS leaders warn their ability to tackle the backlog in planned care is at risk. Despite pleas from NHS chiefs to measures such as mask-wearing back into force, ministers said there were no plans to change guidance. The Independent understands at least two major hospitals, in Newcastle and York, have dropped testing of all patients without symptoms in order to alleviate pressure on beds – raising fears that Covid could spread on unchecked wards. Other hospitals are also likely to do the same as bed pressures worsen. Sources have told The Independent some trusts have begun to drop “red” Covid only wards, while some are considering not separating patients in A&E. One expert, critical care doctor Tom Lawton, who analyses hospital-acquired infection data, said that stopping patient testing in hospitals was “worrying” and that the NHS would be putting “blinkers on” just as in-hospital infections were “as high as they’ve ever been”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 April 2022
  24. News Article
    Pregnant women with suspected pre-eclampsia will now be offered a test on the NHS to detect the condition. Pre-eclampsia affects some women, usually during the second half of pregnancy or soon after their baby is born. It can lead to serious complications if it is not picked up during maternity appointments, with early signs including high blood pressure and protein in the urine. In some cases, women can develop a severe headache, vision problems such as blurring or flashing, pain just below the ribs, swelling and vomiting. Tests have been available to help rule out the condition but midwives will now use tests designed to pick up a positive diagnosis. In new draft guidance, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said midwives could use one of four blood tests to help diagnose suspected preterm pre-eclampsia. Jeanette Kusel, the acting director for medtech and digital at NICE, said: “These tests represent a step-change in the management and treatment of pre-eclampsia. New evidence presented to the committee shows that these tests can help successfully diagnose pre-eclampsia, alongside clinical information for decision-making, rather than just rule it out. “This is extremely valuable to doctors and expectant mothers as now they can have increased confidence in their treatment plans and preparing for a safe birth.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 25 March 2022
  25. News Article
    Lateral flow tests could cost care home visitors £73 a month, a leading UK charity has said, as it renewed calls to keep the devices free in such settings. The government has previously announced that free testing for the general public will end from 1 April, and that this will include care home visitors. However, charities have warned the shift away from free tests could place a heavy financial burden on those visiting care homes, where testing is still advised. James White, the head of public affairs and campaigns at the Alzheimer’s Society, said the proposed charge on lateral flow tests for visitors to care homes was a cruel tax on care. “Over the past two years, we’ve consistently heard many tragic stories from families struggling to visit their loved ones in care homes. For many people with dementia, this isolation has led to a significant deterioration in their condition and mental health,” he said. “With infection rates rising once again, the government must provide free lateral flow tests for all visitors to care homes so that families are not put in an agonising position where they are forced to ration visits, leaving people with dementia once again isolated and alone.” Caroline Abrahams, Age UK’s charity director, said: “No one should have to pay out of their own pocket for tests in circumstances where the expert advice is clear that testing remains an important safeguard against Covid,” she said. “If care home visitors are going to continue to be asked to keep testing to protect their loved ones, it would be completely unacceptable to expect them to pay.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 15 March 2022 Further reading Visiting restrictions and the impact on patients and their families: a relative's perspective
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