The principal scientific journal for the profession in New Zealand

Lynne Chepulis, Christopher Mayo, Ryan Paul, Rawiri Keenan, Ross Lawrenson

Variation in open access vildagliptin use in Waikato patients with type 2 diabetes

The aim of this study was to determine the variability in open access vildagliptin use in patients with type 2 diabetes in the Waikato region.

Nick Wilson, Janet Hoek, Nhung Nghiem, Jennifer Summers, Leah Grout, Richard Edwards

Modelling the impacts of tobacco denicotinisation on achieving the Smokefree 2025 goal in Aotearoa New Zealand

We modelled the likely impact of denicotinisation to inform the New Zealand Government’s upcoming decision-making.

Jessica Yang, Anthony Dowell, Sara Filoche

Views of health professionals on the impact of early miscarriage on women’s mental health and the accessibility of services and support

International literature suggests that early pregnancy loss can have a lasting effect on mental health, from mental distress to symptoms or diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.

Adrian Martinez-Ruiz, Sarah Cullum, Gary Cheung, Susan Yates, Rita Krishnamurthi, Claudia Rivera Rodriguez, Ngaire Kerse, Makarena Dudley

Diagnostic accuracy of 10/66 dementia protocol in Māori kaumātua (elders) living in Aotearoa New Zealand

The prevalence of dementia has been progressively increasing in recent decades, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has recognised dementia as a public health priority.

Caroline Stuart, Duncan Reid, Alice Theadom, Mark Fulcher, Natalie Hardaker

Knowledge and management of sport-related concussion in primary care in New Zealand

Sport-related concussion (SRC) is a form of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) induced by biomechanical forces that can lead to prolonged cognitive, emotional and physical effects.

Vivek Perumal, Sambit Dash, Snigdha Mishra, Nawaporn Techataweewan

Clinical anatomy through gamification: a learning journey

It is well known that games help learning by creating memories and experience, and the use of educational games could improve student interaction and engagement.

Bhavesh Dayal Lallu, Jae Beom Hong, Michael Wang, John Chalissery, Roger Blume, Jeanette Langridge, Sarah Davidson, Heather Webb, P Alan Barber

Stroke clot retrieval from Taranaki, New Zealand: a real-world regional experience

Acute stroke care has transformed in recent years, from a largely supportive-management approach to one that aggressively aims to re-establish blood flow to salvageable brain tissue.

Tristin L Kimpton, Kim Ward

Is not fasting before cardiac catheterisation better than fasting? A systematic integrative literature review

Historically, patients undergoing coronary angiography and angioplasty have been required to fast in preparation for this procedure. However, scholars have questioned the evidence base for this practice, with some centres changing guidelines to remove fasting altogether.

Krystina V Common, H Carl Hanger

A broken neck: outcomes from conservative management of C2 fractures in older adults

Cervical fractures can occur in patients of any age. However, in older adults the force required to cause these injuries may be much less than in younger patients.

Repeated laparoscopies for pelvic pain: doing the same thing over and expecting a different outcome?

Karen Joseph

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) afflicts around one in four New Zealand women and is commonly attributed to endometriosis, despite around half of those women affected not having demonstrable lesions.

Vinuli Withanarachchie, Marta Rychert, Chris Wilkins

Assessing progress with the implementation of the New Zealand Medicinal Cannabis Scheme

The decision to legalise cannabis for medical purposes followed growing public demand, including by terminally ill and epileptic patients who advocated for greater access to cannabis-based products.

Owen Sinclair (Te Rarawa), Jin Russell, Danny de Lore (Ngāti Tuwharetoa), Erik Andersen (Ngāti Raukawa), Teuila Percival, Siouxsie Wiles

The urgent need for an equitable COVID-19 paediatric vaccine roll-out to protect tamariki Māori | OPEN ACCESS

In this editorial, we argue for a vaccination programme for all New Zealand children to be rolled-out as soon as possible after regulatory approval, and that the design of the paediatric vaccine roll-out should be underpinned by equity to uphold the Crown’s obligations to Māori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Michael G Baker, Amanda Kvalsvig, Sue Crengle, Matire Harwood, Collin Tukuitonga, Bryan Betty, John Bonning, Nick Wilson

The next phase in Aotearoa New Zealand’s COVID-19 response: a tight suppression strategy may be the best option | OPEN ACCESS

In this editorial, we consider the implications of the New Zealand Government’s shift away from a national COVID-19 elimination strategy. This is a critical stage in managing the pandemic.

Vol 134 No 1545: 12 November 2021

New Zealand’s staffed ICU bed capacity and COVID-19 surge capacity | OPEN ACCESS

Paul J Young, Alex Psirides, Stephen Streat

In 2020, COVID-19 case numbers in many countries required intensive care units (ICUs) to adapt to treat critically ill patients when demand for beds exceeded staffed capacity.

Jane Morgan, Teena Mathew, Sunita Azariah

Eliminating congenital syphilis from Aotearoa New Zealand

We all recognise the “aha” moment in the congenital syphilis case reported in this issue of the New Zealand Medical Journal, when “a subtle desquamating rash on the soles was noted and urgent treponemal serology requested,” which led to a successful clinical outcome for this whānau.

Vol 134 No 1543: 8 October 2021

COVID-19: what comes after elimination? | OPEN ACCESS

Des Gorman, Murray Horn

Although the delta variant of Covid emerged last year and was detected in our managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities five months ago, we were poorly prepared for and have struggled to control this current outbreak.

Vol 134 No 1543: 8 October 2021

Closing the gaps: health equity by 2040

Lyndon Keene, Sarah Dalton

Health inequities have existed in New Zealand since records began. They have been described as immoral because for many years governments have known what is needed to address them.

Roger T Mulder, Tarun Bastiampillai, Anthony Jorm, Stephen Allison

New Zealand’s mental health crisis, He Ara Oranga and the future

New Zealand’s mental health planning is heading in the wrong direction by directing resources and thus services away from people with serious mental illness who are often affected by social exclusion and deprivation.

Namrata Prasad, Nikki Turner, Sarah Alexander

Early childhood education staff are falling through a vaccination policy gap in New Zealand

In this paper, we present data on self-reported immunisation status from an ECE-sector survey.

Jane Casey, Sandy Macleod

The assessment of competency and coercion in the End of Life Choice Act 2019

For doctors, the matter of medically assisted dying may raise many conflicts: the duty to preserve life yet the duty to relieve suffering, the duty to respect patient autonomy yet the duty to do no harm.

Lynsey Sutton-Smith, Mark Weatherall, Elliot M Bell, Susanna Every-Palmer, Paul Skirrow

What are the long-term outcomes for New Zealand survivors of critical illness?

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn considerable attention to the survival journey and recovery of patients post critical illness.

Sherly Parackal, Kirsten Coppell, Carlos Lam Yang, Trudy Sullivan, Rathan M Subramaniam

Hidden figures and misnomers: a case for disaggregated Asian health statistics in Aotearoa New Zealand to improve health outcomes | OPEN ACCESS

People of Asian ethnicity are the third largest ethnic group in New Zealand, and addressing their health is increasingly important.

Vol 134 No 1545: 12 November 2021

Testing for dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency in New Zealand to improve the safe use of 5-fluorouracil and capecitabine in cancer patients

Nuala Helsby, Kathryn Burns, Michael Findlay, David Porter, Matthew Strother

Intravenous 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and oral capecitabine (which forms 5-FU) are commonly used in New Zealand to treat a range of solid tumour types, particularly gastrointestinal and breast cancers. Routine use of these agents carries a risk of treatment-limiting toxicities, including diarrhoea, mucositis, myelosuppression, Hand-Foot syndrome and sometimes cardiotoxicity.

Sharon J Gardiner, Eamon J Duffy, Stephen T Chambers, Mark G Thomas, Michael Addidle, Brendan Arnold, Bruce Arroll, Michelle ND Balm, Carolina Batlle Perales, Sarah Berger, Emma Best, Bryan Betty, Mark Birch, Timothy K Blackmore, Max Bloomfield, Simon Briggs, Olivia Bupha-Intr, Andrew Burns, Chloë Campbell, Paul KL Chin, Simon C Dalton, Nicola Davies, Nicholas M Douglas, Tanya du Plessis, Juliet Elvy, Richard Everts, Jared Green, Kate Grimwade, Rupert Handy, Mariam G Hardie, Emma Henderson, David J Holland, Julia Howard, Ben Hudson, Paul Huggan, Heather Isenman, Mohammed Issa, Matthew J Kelly, Cat Li, Anecita G Lim, Joyce Lim, Michael Maze, Sarah CL Metcalf, Cate McCall, David Murdoch, Grant McRae, Mitzi Nisbet, Alan Pithie, Nigel Raymond, Kerry Read, Dalilah Restrepo, Stephen Ritchie, Ben Robertson, James E Ussher, Lesley Voss, Tony Walls, Haur Sen Yew

Antimicrobial stewardship in human healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand: urgent call for national leadership and co-ordinated efforts to preserve antimicrobial effectiveness | OPEN ACCESS

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an immense threat to human health. Within 30 years, the global number of deaths from AMR-associated infections is predicted to increase from ~700,000 to ~10 million people annually, if we do not act now.

Psychedelic and related medicines at the end of life

David B Menkes

The Assisted Dying Service reflects the implementation last month of the End of Life Choice Act (EoLCA) 2019 and marks a turning point for medical practice in New Zealand.

St John Ambulance has and will continue to treat and transport all patients throughout the COVID-19 outbreaks in New Zealand | OPEN ACCESS

Kris Gagliardi

In a recent article in the New Zealand Medical Journal by authors Nixon et al about rural doctors and COVID-19, there is an incorrect statement about St John Ambulance policy which, having now been reported elsewhere, has propagated confusion and misinformation.

Louise Reiche, Adrian Macquet, Anna Skinner, Sarah Fursdon

Reduced excision of benign skin lesions through tiered practitioner, general practitioner with a special interest in skin cancer and dermatologist clinical review within New Zealand integrated family healthcare

eiche, Adrian Macquet, Anna Skinner, Sarah Fursdon International best evidence study data state that accuracy in diagnosing skin cancers, invasive melanoma and atypical intra-epidermal melanocytic variants is higher for in-person dermatologist diagnosis compared to image-based evaluations and compared to other trained professionals.

Thomas Hills, Stephen Ritchie, Mark Thomas, Eamon Duffy

Non-pharmaceutical interventions targeting COVID-19 were associated with large reductions in community antibiotic dispensing but no increase in severe morbidity from severe common bacterial infections

New Zealand’s public health response to the pandemic resulted in the elimination of COVID-19 and large reductions in the circulation of many common respiratory viruses and some bacterial pathogens, such as S. pneumoniae. We recently reported a large reduction in community antibiotic dispensing in New Zealand.

Response to: COVID-19: what comes after elimination?

Arindam Basu

The authors of the editorial COVID-19: what comes after elimination? deserve congratulations for writing a well-articulated, thoughtful and perhaps one of best “think pieces” from a multi-disciplinary perspective on what may happen as the country moves away from a strict COVID-19 elimination strategy to a strategy reliant on “zero tolerance for COVID-19 deaths.”

Anti-vax inactivity

Tony Devenish

As a retired GP, I am sad to realise that I am embarrassed by the apparent inability of our professional bodies to respond to the anti-vax doctors in our midst.

Vol 134 No 1543: 8 October 2021

Pacific countries lead the way on sugary drinks taxes: lessons for New Zealand | OPEN ACCESS

Andrea Teng, Viliami Puloka, Louise Signal, Nick Wilson

New Zealand has one of the highest rates of obesity in the OECD, and the health burden of death and disability from obesity and being overweight has increased by 26% in a decade to become the second largest single cause of health loss after tobacco.

Vol 134 No 1532: 26 March 2021

Perfection: The life and times of Sir William Manchester

Saxon Connor

I recently spent a weekend in Martinborough and as many people do spent some time browsing the local bookshop.

Vol 133 No 1527: 18 December 2020

From Southland to Surgery: A Journey around Values

Richard Acland

Professor John Morton has not only written an intriguing catalogue of the Christchurch surgical scene in the latter part of the 20th century, but has also provided a well-considered philosophy for medical care.

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