BMJ Best Practice

29/12/2025

A patent foramen ovale is a small opening between the heart’s upper chambers that didn’t fully close after birth. It’s surprisingly common (seen in about 1 in 10 people on contrast echocardiography) and most people never know they have it because it’s usually asymptomatic.

💡 Read more about this topic on the BMJ Best Practice website: https://bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/951

20/12/2025

Diagnose this patient?

A 7-week-old female infant with an uncomplicated perinatal history presents with a 1-week history of a spasmodic cough and low-grade fever. This morning she had a generalised seizure, followed by apnoea and respiratory failure. Her father reports having a mild cough for the past 3 weeks.
https://bit.ly/3HrzrCe

19/12/2025

Something to ponder while enjoying those festive 🥜🥜 and treats. Zinc, found in meat and nuts, is a key micronutrient important in growth and development, immune function, taste, smell, wound healing, protein synthesis, and maintenance of skin and hair. Deficiency is more likely in children and the elderly, and may be clinically difficult to differentiate from hypothyroidism and depression, but is usually easily treated with supplementation. Click the link
https://bit.ly/496Kwnu to ‘crack’ this topic on Best Practice; you ‘walnut’ regret it!

18/12/2025

RECENT UPDATES🚨

FDA approves novel antipsychotic lumateperone as a new adjunctive treatment for depression

Find out more on our topic: Depression in adults
https://bit.ly/4jggOPn

17/12/2025

📝🩺A 42 year old woman attends her GP surgery saying she has been struggling to get over a recent viral illness, and now has myalgia, palpitations and a 3-4 day history of an increasingly painful lump at the front of her neck. On palpation, her thyroid gland is swollen and tender. Her initial blood results show raised free T3 and T4, suppressed TSH and mildly elevated ESR and CRP.
What’s the likely diagnosis?
🔗Check your answer on Best Practice, click https://bit.ly/4rSLiMj

15/12/2025

While still rare in this group overall, young women who are never-smokers are now more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer than men who have never smoked. A number of genetic mutations associated with lung cancer such as EGFR, ALK and ROS1 mutations, are now known to be more prevalent in subgroups traditionally less associated with a lung cancer diagnosis, including younger people, never-smokers, and women. These molecular biomarkers are an important target for therapy.

🫁👀☝️Challenge the stereotypes in clinics.
🔗 Click https://bit.ly/44lu9AU to read more about non-small cell lung cancer on BMJ Best Practice.

13/12/2025

RECENT UPDATES🚨
AMT-130 gene therapy slows disease progression in patients with Huntington’s disease

Find out more on our topic: Huntington's disease
https://bit.ly/4pFazYu

12/12/2025

😴 What diagnosis?

A 41-year-old man presents with:

- Loud, chronic snoring
- Witnessed apnoeas and gasping during sleep
- Unrefreshing sleep and morning headaches
- Excessive daytime sleepiness interfering with work and driving
- Hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and obesity

Could this be more than just snoring?

🩺 Explore the differential diagnosis, key investigations, and management approach on BMJ Best Practice 🔗 https://bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/215

11/12/2025

Explore BMJ Best Practice today

Try our free topic 'Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)' and see how BMJ Best Practice can support your daily decision-making and patient care 📝
https://bit.ly/4ozlYZ3

10/12/2025

🩺 A 55-year-old man presents with a 5-year history of a gradually worsening, asymptomatic skin eruption that hasn’t responded to treatment for dermatitis.

🔍 Examination shows asymmetrical, erythematous, scaly patches with poikiloderma on the buttocks, flanks, and legs - but routine tests are normal.

🤔 Not just a rash… what’s the diagnosis?

Find out on BMJ Best Practice 👉 https://bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/1025

09/12/2025

Get the definitive executive playbook for the future of Quality Improvement.

In this essential webinar recording, Dr. Kieran Walsh (BMJ company Clinical Director) and Dr. Patricia Henwood (Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer at Jefferson Health) dissect the path forward for QI. They move beyond theory to share the strategic trends, governance models, and leadership principles needed to ensure your organization’s quality efforts are ready for tomorrow.

Access their expert strategic outlook on Quality improvement today, tomorrow, and in the future: https://bmj.wistia.com/medias/r6iqylehdn

A robust and forward-thinking approach to quality improvement is no longer optional—it's essential. From bridging the gap between evidence and practice to tackling health equity and harnessing the power of AI, the challenges are significant, but the opportunities are even greater. Learn from exper...

08/12/2025

❓Do you know how to recognise and manage premature ovarian failure?
💡Explore evidence-based guidance on symptoms, causes, and treatment options on BMJ Best Practice 🔗https://bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/1004