02/05/2012

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THE TOLL OF PREMATURE BIRTH 15 million babies are born too soon around the world every year. And more than 1 million of them die as a result of complications because they are premature. For the first time ever we now have country by country figures for premature births. But there are ways of preventing some premature births and of saving more babies without always needing hi-tech equipment according to Dr Joy Lawn from Saving Newborn Lives, Save the Children. In countries like Malawi “kangaroo care” – where the baby is placed next to the mother’s skin to keep warm – has been shown to reduce the risk of infections and help premature babies to grow. And steroids can be injected before birth to improve the condition of the baby’s lungs. UNNECESSARY TESTS Doctors can order blood tests and scans to help work out what’s behind a symptom. But are those tests always necessary? Nine medical specialities in the United States have each released a list of five tests and procedures that they say are often unnecessary. They hope the Choosing Wisely campaign will encourage doctors and their patients to spend more time discussing what tests are really needed. Dr Chris Cassell is the President of the American Board of Internal Medical Foundation, a charity spearheading the campaign. She says the unnecessary tests result from both the way healthcare is funded in the States and a lack of knowledge of the latest evidence behind treatments. DA VINCI DRAWINGS 16th century anatomical drawings by the renowned artist Leonardo Vinci are still being used today to teach new doctors. Buckingham Palace in London is the venue for a new exhibition of the sketches which opens this week. The scientific papers were left unpublished after da Vinci’s death – a fact that Peter Abrahams who’s Professor of Clinical Anatomy at Warwick Medical School believes actually held back the development of medical science. Many of the drawings show the intricate workings of the body – such as the heart, the foetus inside the uterus and the workings of muscles and ligaments in extended limbs. Many of them mirror the way that modern imaging scans display “slices” of the body.