Vol 133 No 1511: 13 March 2020

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Issue Summary

Viewpoint

SUMMARY

Food taxes and subsidies to protect health: relevance to Aotearoa New Zealand

Nick Wilson, Lisa Te Morenga, Sally Mackay, Sarah Gerritsen, Christine Cleghorn, Amanda C Jones, Boyd Swinburn

The hazardous and obesogenic food environment are major contributors to health loss in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this article we report that each one of the 14 recent systematic reviews on the food tax and/or subsidy topic since 2015, find that such interventions have favourable impacts from a health perspective. The New Zealand-specific evidence we considered (12 studies since January 2010) is less definitive, but the pattern of results is consistent with the international evidence. Given this overall picture, the New Zealand Government should consider such tax/subsidy interventions, potentially starting with a UK-style sugary drinks industry levy.

Article

SUMMARY

The role and measurement of patient activation in the management of long-term conditions in New Zealand

Claire Budge, Melanie Taylor, Chiquita Hansen, Folole Fai, Materoa Mar

This article provides information about patient activation, a concept defined as people’s knowledge skills and confidence to manage their own health. After describing previous research about how patient activation is measured, and the reliability and validity of the measurement instrument, we present data from a study carried out in New Zealand. Our results were similar to those found internationally and we conclude that patient activation is a useful tool for research and clinical practice in Aotearoa.

Article

SUMMARY

Utilisation and maintenance of high-intensity statins following acute coronary syndrome and coronary angiography: opportunities to improve care (ANZACS-QI 26)

Andrew J Kerr, Sirisha Mitnala, Mildred Lee, Harvey D White

This study captured virtually all New Zealand patients discharged from hospital after a heart attack or unstable angina who had been considered appropriate for invasive heart treatments. A key pillar of management for these patients is optimal cholesterol lowering with high-intensity statin medication. We found that 79% of people were discharged with a high-intensity statin, although only 36% received the maximum recommended dose. However, by a year post-discharge only 60% were receiving high-intensity statin, and one in five people received no statin. We discuss the opportunities in-hospital, and post-discharge in general practice, to improve survival and quality of life, by improving utilisation of evidence-based secondary prevention medications.

Article

SUMMARY

Incidence of venous thromboembolism after total hip, total knee and hip fracture surgery at Waitemata District Health Board following a peer-reviewed audit

James S Millar, Carlene MM Lawes, Bill Farrington, Penny Andrew, Peter Misur, Eileen Merriman, Matt Walker

Blood clots in the legs (deep vein thrombosis, or DVT) or lungs (pulmonary emboli, or PE), are rare side effects of lower-limb surgery. The rates of these blood clots in patients undergoing hip and knee replacement, and hip fracture surgery at Waitemata District Health Board were analysed. Comparing the years 2006–2010 and 2013–2016, DVT rates have decreased from 2.3% to 1.5% and PE rates from 0.9% to 0.6%. We believe this decrease is due to better collaboration between the orthopaedic and haematology departments, more widespread use of drugs that prevent blood clots, and interventions aimed at improving patients’ recovery after surgery to enable them to walk sooner.

Article

SUMMARY

Vitamin D concentrations in New Zealanders with and without inflammatory bowel disease: do they differ?

Hannah Morton, Kevin C Pedley, Robin JC Stewart, Jane Coad

People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which occurs at a high prevalence in New Zealand, are at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency. This study investigated the vitamin D status of people with IBD (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) recruited from various towns throughout New Zealand and compared them to healthy controls. The main findings suggest that vitamin D status may be associated with disease severity in Crohn’s disease.

Article

SUMMARY

Adult cochlear implant recipients and meningitis in New Zealand: are patients receiving the recommended immunisations?

Scott Mitchell, Lesina Nakhid-Schuster, Michel Neeff

This work looks at how many adults who have had a cochlear implant, which is a device surgically implanted into the hearing organ to help with hearing, had received the vaccinations that are recommended and fully funded in New Zealand to try and reduce their risk of meningitis (a rare but potentially life-threatening infection of the linings around the brain). We found that only 4.4% of adult cochlear implant recipients had received the ‘full’ recommended vaccination schedule.

Editorial