March NICE Guidance
The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence has published new guidance for the month of March.
The published guidance includes Clinical Guidelines that cover Antenatal Care, Diabetes in Pregnancy and Prophylaxis against Infective Endocarditis. There are also two technology appraisals that cover Asthma (in adults) - corticosteroids and Sleep apnoea - continuous positive airways pressure.
Perhaps the most controversial recommendation (PDF) made is that antibiotic prophylaxis is no longer recommended for prevention of infective endocarditis in patients undergoing interventional procedures. This has been routine however there is little evidence of efficacy and no clear link between infective endocarditis and procedures. The guidance has prompted a letter (PDF) from the Chief Dental Officer at the Department of Health that supports the recommendations.
Action: Clinicians who diagnose and treat patients with any of the above conditions will find these guidelines are a useful aid to management of these conditions.
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Hi Matthew,
Great to see this week's massive media coverage on the CPAP appraisal. And well done on this site, I like what you're doing here.
If GPs who read this wonder whether their patient has sleep apnoea or perhaps just suffer from severe stress, perhaps they like referring to the Sleep Apnoea Test site I built a while ago. It uses the Epworth Sleepiness Scale along with supplemental questions to compare the patient's symptoms with that of known sleep apnoea patients.
For CPAP info, I invite all to have a look at the UK CPAP Portal at http://www.cpap.co.uk
Keep up the good work Matthew. With volunteer web efforts like yours and mine many more of the hundreds of thousands of undiagnosed people may be able to get suitable treatment.
Regards,
Joe
Comment by Joe on CPAP — March 28, 2008 #