Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Jun 2021
Medical Oncology Group of Australia position statement: COVID-19 vaccination in patients with solid tumours.
People with cancer are vulnerable to increased morbidity and mortality from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19 vaccination is key to protecting the population of people with cancer from adverse outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The Medical Oncology Group of Australia aimed to address the considerations around COVID-19 vaccination in people with cancer, in particular, safety and efficacy of vaccination. The assessment of patients with generalised allergic reaction to anti-cancer therapy containing vaccine components and practical implementation of vaccination of people on active anti-cancer therapy are also discussed.
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Internal medicine journal · Jun 2021
Abrupt change to telephone follow-up clinics in a regional rheumatology service during COVID-19: analysis of treatment decisions.
During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown our rheumatology service provided follow up by phone. We reviewed clinic documents to compare patients serviced, and patient assessment and treatment outcomes. More patients received care during the lockdown but patient rheumatic disease was deemed active less frequently, more patients had no change to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and patients were less likely to have an intervention arranged. This suggests careful patient selection and appropriate infrastructure should be part of future rheumatology telemedicine.
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Internal medicine journal · Jun 2021
Underutilised human immunodeficiency virus testing in the setting of invasive pneumococcal disease.
People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). We assessed whether patients with invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae, in blood or cerebrospinal fluid, underwent HIV serology testing over a 5-year period. We found that only 39 inpatients out of 156 (25%) with IPD were tested for HIV and thus conclude that such testing is not being undertaken according to some guidelines in patients with IPD. Education and implementation strategies are required to increase testing.