The principal scientific journal for the profession in New Zealand

Lynne Chepulis, Ryan Paul, Elizabeth Lewis-Hills, Manjula Ratnaweera, Neve Mclean, Louise Wolmarans, Jade Tamatea

Ethnic inequities in screening for diabetes in pregnancy in New Zealand—adherence to national guidelines | OPEN ACCESS

Diabetes mellitus (DM) in pregnancy (DiP) may be due to either undiagnosed or previously unrecognised pre-gestational diabetes mellitus (type 1 or type 2 DM (T1D, T2D), or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Leah Boyle, Alexander Boyle, Sharon Jay, Jacques Marnewick

COVID-19 lockdown impact on common general surgical acute presentations to a regional centre in New Zealand | OPEN ACCESS

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has forever altered the landscape in global healthcare. It has highlighted how healthcare systems are impacted by a global crisis that has challenged the capabilities of medical resources and facilities worldwide.

Geoff Noller, Jenny Bourke

Point-of-care rapid testing for hepatitis C antibodies at New Zealand needle exchanges

People who inject drugs (PWID) are a population both at substantial risk of exposure to hepatitis C (HCV) and also one facing numerous barriers to its diagnosis and treatment.

Natalie Gauld, John Perry, Catherine Jackson, Ed Gane

Feasibility and outcomes of a hepatitis C screening programme in community pharmacies

Almost 40,000 adult New Zealanders (prevalence 0.8%) have chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with an additional 1,000 new infections per annum. An estimated 20,000 remain undiagnosed, and many who have been diagnosed have been lost to follow-up and not treated.

Lance Ng, Tze Vun Liew, Andrew Henderson

Characteristics, trends and outcomes in acute coronary syndromes in the renal replacement therapy population: a 10-year retrospective analysis of the Midlands Region, New Zealand

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is one of the leading causes of mortality in the renal replacement therapy (RRT) population.

Kristina Aluzaite, Margaret Fraser, Steve Johnson, Hannah Giles, Michael Schultz

Successful use of generic direct acting antiviral medications to treat hepatitis C—a New Zealand-wide study

Hepatitis C is caused by an infection with blood-borne hepatitis C virus (HCV) that results in a chronic inflammatory process in the liver. Only a small proportion of the persons infected with HCV will develop symptomatic acute hepatitis, and while 18–34% of the patients will spontaneously clear the infection, the remainder will develop chronic disease that may lead to progressive fibrosis or cirrhosis.

Emma Jeffs, Jonathan Williman, Cheryl Brunton, Joanna Gullam, Tony Walls

Pregnant women’s knowledge of, and adherence to, New Zealand Food Safety in Pregnancy guidelines

Optimal nutrition is important at all stages of life but assumes even greater importance in pregnancy. During pregnancy, nutritional requirements are increased and are critical in supporting the physiological adaptations that occur during pregnancy.

Jessica Heejong Lee, Brandon Jon Orr-Walker

Diabetic ketoacidosis admissions at Middlemore Hospital: observational study of cause and patient demographics

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a serious complication of diabetes. While mortality has improved in recent years to less than 1% in most developed countries, it is associated with high healthcare utilisation and costs.

Sharon J Gardiner, Ari B Basevi, Niall L Hamilton, Sarah CL Metcalf, Stephen T Chambers, Stephen G Withington, Paul K Chin, Joshua T Freeman, Simon C Dalton, on behalf of the Canterbury District Health Board Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee

Point prevalence surveys of antimicrobial use in adult inpatients at Canterbury District Health Board Hospitals

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing issue that threatens human health globally. To help combat this, both the New Zealand and Global AMR Action Plans include effective antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) as a core control measure.

Calan Jones, Bianca Wadham, Wayne Morriss, Andrew McCombie, Melissa Evans, Christopher Wakeman

An audit of fluid resuscitation practice in trauma patients with major haemorrhage at Christchurch Hospital

The incidence of major trauma in New Zealand is approximately 48 per 100,000 population per year, with a fatality rate of 8.4%. The majority of these deaths are due to traumatic brain or spinal cord injury, but approximately 12.6% of fatalities are due to haemorrhage, a potentially preventable cause of traumatic death.

Rawiri McKree Jansen, Gerhard Sundborn, Rick Cutfield, Dahai Yu, David Simmons

Ethnic inequity in diabetes outcomes—inaction in the face of need

Evaluation of a longstanding primary care audit and diabetes care support service (DCSS) programme was reported in a paper published in Lancet Global Health on 15 October 2020.

Oh my

Peter Crampton

NZDep is a small area index of relative socioeconomic deprivation based on census data. Ethnicity graphs for NZDep illustrate how socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage are distributed throughout our society.

Sam McBride, Papaarangi Reid, Louise Signal, Michael G Baker

The Cannabis Referendum: why a yes vote offers a net gain for public health

The Cannabis Referendum provides an opportunity for New Zealand to take another step towards the wider goal of minimising the harms of drug use in this country. Here we summarise why evidence and public health considerations support a yes vote in the Referendum.

Amir Zarrabi, Stephen Mark

Healing or harming: the prostate cancer dichotomy

For decades, the optimal management of men with prostate cancer has divided the international urological community. Prostate cancer remains the most expensive cancer in the New Zealand healthcare system, the most commonly diagnosed with around 4,000 new cases per year, and a common cause of death.

Frank Frizelle, Murray Brennan

Could comprehensive cancer centres improve cancer outcomes and equity in New Zealand?

In the midst of the present Covid pandemic it is easy to forget that we have an ongoing cancer pandemic that will not be ameliorated by a generic vaccine. Globally, based on 2013–2015 data approximately 40% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime, meaning that most of us can be expected to be affected by cancer, either directly or indirectly.

Equity is the new black—and black lives matter | OPEN ACCESS

Curtis Walker

Renowned civil rights leader, Rev. Dr Martin Luther King Jr said: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane”.

Vol 133 No 1521: 4 September 2020

Acknowledging and acting on racism in the health sector in Aotearoa New Zealand | OPEN ACCESS

Vanessa Selak, Jamie-Lee Rahiri, Rod Jackson, Matire Harwood

“I think New Zealand is the best place on the planet, but it’s a racist place.” Taika Waititi (9 April, 2018)

The legacy of MeNZB and possible implications for COVID-19 vaccination | OPEN ACCESS

James Stewart Reid

It is now over a decade since MeNZB was in routine use in New Zealand. Starting in July 2004, it was administered in a three-dose schedule to over a million individuals, aged six weeks to 20 years, to provide protection against the epidemic strain of group B Meningococci.

Heather Came, Isaac Warbrick, Tim McCreanor, Maria Baker

From gorse to ngahere: an emerging allegory for decolonising the New Zealand health system

The colonial health system in Aotearoa is failing Māori. This is evident through the findings of the landmark WAI 2575 report of the Waitangi Tribunal that found institutional racism and systemic breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi across the infrastructure of the health system, including in health legislation, policy, contracting, governance and investment practices of the Crown.

Nurse prescribing in New Zealand—the difference in levels of prescribing explained

Jane Key, Karen Hoare

New Zealand has been late in implementing nurse prescribing. Towards the end of the 20th century non-medical prescribing was introduced into many westernised countries, notably in the UK, where nurses have been prescribing for decades.

Sarah Cullum, Makarena Dudley, Ngaire Kerse

The case for a bicultural dementia prevalence study in Aotearoa New Zealand

As the world’s population ages, the prevalence of dementia is projected to increase from the current 50 million to 130 million in 2050. The present cost of dementia is over one trillion US dollars and is expected to double in 10 years.

Leo J Schep, Robin J Slaughter, Paul Glue, Paul Gee

The clinical toxicology of cannabis | OPEN ACCESS

Natural cannabis is one of the most widely used recreational drugs in the world. The active constituent, trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is one of approximately 64 different cannabinoids found within the cannabis plant (Cannabis sativa).

Ammar J Alsamarrai, Jocelyne R Benatar, Eun Soo Chung, Jithendra B Somaratne

A pragmatic diagnostic approach to myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries

Most myocardial infarctions (MI) are caused by plaque disruption of underlying atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD). This pathophysiologic model of acute coronary syndrome lends itself to effective treatment strategies, including pharmacologic measures and percutaneous interventions.

Jane Casey, Anthony Grant

The assessment of testamentary capacity

Freedom of choice is a fundamental human right. When it comes to welfare, property or legal matters, decisions can have far-reaching implications.

Meisha N Nicolson, Jayde AM Flett

The mental wellbeing of New Zealanders during and post-lockdown | OPEN ACCESS

Aotearoa New Zealand’s ‘go hard and go early’ approach meant that we were one of the first countries in the world to ease our COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. But, the re-emergence of community transmission in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland demonstrated the recovery from COVID-19 will be a marathon rather than sprint.

Jack Havill, Libby Smales

Hospice/palliative care—entrenched attitudes against assisted dying

We hope that hospice/palliative care (H/PC) organisations will take a fresh look at their current stance against medical assistance in dying (MAID). The present approach will disadvantage some patients in a number of ways.

Reflections on EOLC Act Referendum

Rowan Stephens

I am a retired GP, and I will be voting a resounding YES in the EOLC Act Referendum.

Health effects of fluoridation on IQ are unproven

Ken Perrott

Bruce Spittle recommends a new review of health effects of community water fluoridation (CWF) because of new findings published in three recent papers.

Damian Scarf, Benjamin C Riordan, Taylor Winter

The association between New Zealand adolescents’ normative perceptions of pornography use and their frequency of pornography use

If a parent were to type “New Zealand teens and porn” into Google, rather than being presented with news and information about pornography use by New Zealand adolescents, they would see a series of links to websites such as pornhub, xvideos, and redtube.

David B Menkes, Nicholas Hoeh

High time to decide

The October 2020 ‘reeferendum’ will determine the legal status of recreational cannabis in New Zealand.

Vol 133 No 1521: 4 September 2020

Doctor narratives on burnout and allergic reactions to talking about feelings: what are the unspoken rules when talking to doctors?

Kathryn Russell

Kevin, are you okay? How you going with all this?—Yes I’m fine, a little busy; I’m worried about Bob though.

Vol 133 No 1521: 4 September 2020

My Life in Public Health

In the time of Covid, some of the superheroes of the health sector are the public health physicians. This book outlines the active and varied personal and professional life of one New Zealand public health physician.

Vol 132 No 1489: 1 February 2019

Mind That Child; A Medical Memoir

This a book that recounts the experience of the Auckland Starship’s paediatrician Dr Simon Rowley over his professional lifetime.

Vol 132 No 1488: 18 January 2019

Fat Off; the Right Way A clever and sustainable eating guide for weight loss and healthy living

Paul Anderson is a New Zealander who trained in general surgery and works part-time in Australia and part-time in New Zealand.

Vol 132 No 1488: 18 January 2019

The Art of Recovery: six personal journeys

As an editor you receive books for review, which are sent to suitable people following an email agreement to review.

Vol 131 No 1477: 22 June 2018

The Older Traveller: A guide for the health professional

When I found this book was returned from the initial reviewer without a review from the person who had “volunteered” to review it

Vol 131 No 1477: 22 June 2018

Black Flu 1918; The story of New Zealand s worst public health disaster

This is the account of the 1918 influenza pandemic.