Doug West

Get this: Coffee suppressed atrial fibrillation!
Unexpected results for recurrence from a randomized trial in participants after cardioversion from AF
#AHA25 @jama.com
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

A structured database would have prevented the need for this laborious data cleaning. I'm just sayin'.

The New England Journal of Medicine Hypertonic Saline or Carbocisteine in Bronchiectasis A Research Summary based on Bradley JM et al. | 10.1056/NEJMoa2510095 | Published on September 28, 2025 Visual representations of the patients in the trial and the treatments they were assigned. Read the full Research Summary at NEJM.org.

In the CLEAR trial, neither carbocisteine nor hypertonic saline reduced the number of pulmonary exacerbations over a period of 52 weeks in participants with bronchiectasis. Full trial results and Research Summary: nej.md/3Vtn1h4

#MedSky #PulmSky #CriticalCare

A major new JAMA review by Dr Catherine Murphy, Prof Ben Solomon & Prof Charles Swanton brings together global data on #lungcancer in people with no smoking history.

Around 1 in 5 cases are ALK or EGFR-driven - highlighting the need for testing at diagnosis.

#LCSM

💡Did you know the number of illicit cigarettes smoked in the UK has fallen by almost 90% since 2000, but the tobacco industry still exploits concern about illicit sales to fight regulation and protect profits... 1/3

🫁 Parents living with #lungcancer and their children (aged 11–24) are invited to take part in a research event in London this November.

The Open University study explores wellbeing and family support needs.

👉 openss.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_etf8nRP4PKwwMIu

The American people deserve a public health system that puts science before politics.

That's why California and 14 other governors are joining forces to launch the Governors Public Health Alliance to protect communities and guarantee decisions are rooted in data and health.

An extraordinary and dangerous approach to public health- making the data fit your preconceptions. Paracetamol is safe.

Delighted that the GIRFT/SCTS joint pathway on surgery for pleural sepsis is now online. Many thanks to Rory Beattie, Guillermo Martinez, Syed Qadri, Jee Soo Choi and the GIRFT team for highlighting…... Delighted that the GIRFT/SCTS joint pathway on surgery for pleural sepsis is now online. Many thanks to Rory Beattie, Guillermo Martinez, Syed Qadri, Jee Soo Choi and the GIRFT team for highlighting ...

Delighted that the SCTS/GIRFT pathway for pleural sepsis surgery is now online www.linkedin.com/posts/dougla...

Those confidence intervals in full!

Gun murders last year:
US: 17,927
England & Wales: 22

Here's the data, per capita, in the chart below.

It's the guns. I wrote about the evidence, with lots of data, along with a more personal response to the Annunciation Church shooting (where I was baptized): www.forkingpaths.co/p/guns-at-an...

Lung disease and social justice - COPD as a manifestation of structural violence.
#WorldCOPDday www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/... @atscommunity.bsky.social @ats-assemblies.bsky.social

The wealth gap – and the health trap What drives the differences in population health among rich nations? Kate Pickett on the lower “wellbeing-adjusted” life expectancy of more unequal countries

“We found that countries with higher levels of income inequality are associated with higher rates of obesity, diabetes, mental illness, asthma, drug use and infant mortality” – @profkepickett.bsky.social of @equalitytrust.bsky.social in our latest blog post #LSEInequalitiesBlog

🔗

Helsinki (pop 657,000) has not had a single traffic death during the last twelve months.

poliisi.fi/-/helsingin-...

The secret to Baltimore's extraordinary year This April, Baltimore saw five homicides.

1. We interrupt this programming for some LEGITIMATELY GOOD NEWS

Violent crime in Baltimore has PLUMMETED to historic lows

How did the city do it?

Baltimore adopted a comprehensive set of "woke" policies, treating violence as a public health issue

The impact of nicotine reduction on cigarette reinforcement value within a marketplace containing alternative nicotine delivery products: A secondary analysis of a multi-site trial AbstractIntroduction. A mandated reduction in the nicotine content of cigarettes would likely improve public health. Prior research has shown that assignme

A mandated reduction in cigarette nicotine content is likely to reduce the reinforcement value of cigarettes in a marketplace where noncombusted products are available, find Tracy Smith et al.

academic.oup.com/ntr/advance-...

You’ve been sold a giant myth when it comes to improving your health Diet and exercise will only get you so far, but there is a magic bullet that could make us all live longer, says professor of global public health Devi Sridhar

"You’ve been sold a giant myth when it comes to improving your health" www.newscientist.com/article/2485...

Lots of us end up as 'accidental managers', thrown in at the deep end without any formal preparation for leading a team. If this sounds familiar to you, ShiftWorks can help you to with an introduction and induction to management.

Find out more: buff.ly/7fBXaq0

Threatened Toronto bike lane gets more rush hour traffic than the car lane Bike lanes are under threat in many cities, even when they work.

“Our 24hr study showed more than 9,130 cyclists moved along Bloor St. at the count point. That's over 9,130 people ... enjoying an affordable, healthy, noiseless, and climate-friendly way to get around.” - Bilal Khan, Community Bikeways #bikesky

lloydalter.substack.com/p/threatened...

Great day at the Society For Cardiothoracic Surgery today. Lots of new work on education, minimal access cardiac surgery and quality improvement in the pipeline.

This is a genuinely terrible idea if true

Smoking rates in pregnant women have fallen 40% in 5 years. It is a stellar achievement that could be at risk if the services delivering this change are cut

Blog: State of the Nation 2025 -Progress, Pressures and Priorities in Lung Cancer Care - National Lung Cancer Audit By Dr Lauren Dixon, NLCA Clinical Fellow, on behalf of the NLCA Project Team The National Lung Cancer Audit (NLCA) State of the Nation 2025 report has just been published, offering a detailed…

📢 New blog: State of the Nation 2025 – Progress, Pressures and Priorities in Lung Cancer Care
By Dr Lauren Dixon, NLCA Clinical Fellow

📑 More early diagnoses 
📑 Treatment delays & capacity pressures

Read the blog 👉 tinyurl.com/25jhf2up

@hqip.bsky.social
@btog.bsky.social
#LungCancer

Great news. 2 more years of funding secured for the National Lung Cancer Audit in England and Wales

Tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease caused by bacteria, was responsible for as many as one-quarter of all deaths in the US and Europe during parts of the 18th and 19th centuries.

However, as we see in the chart for England and Wales, deaths from TB have declined dramatically in rich countries.

Caring for surgical patients requires skill both in and out of the operating room.

Attention to 3 core communication skills offers a way for surgeons to collaborate with patients and families to make patient-centered decisions about surgery.

ja.ma/4mI48TQ

New Podcast: BTOG does … Tobacco Dependency in Lung Cancer.

Dr Emma O’Dowd talks to Professor Sanjay Agrawal.

Wherever you get your podcasts or listen online
btog.org/btog-podcasts/

#LCSM #LungCancer

Great @btog.bsky.social @nlca-natcan.bsky.social joint webinar last night. Latest data from the state of the nation report, updates on early signal reporting and other national lung cancer QI initiatives

Thank you to our panel from @nlca-natcan.bsky.social

The webinar recording and podcast plus a copy of the slides will be available to members within a few days.
The CPD applies if you watch the webinar within 4 weeks of the original live date.

www.btog.org
#LCSM #LungCancer