BMJ Best Practice Podcast BMJ Podcasts

Acute otitis media is common. More than 80% of children experience at least one episode of acute otitis media before the age of 2 years. And complications are common also - from perforated tympanic membrane to otitis media with effusion. So it is important that we get the diagnosis and management of this condition right. To find out more about this problem and what we can do about it, please do listen to his podcast interview with Dr. Carlos Armengol of the Pediatric Associates of Charlottesville in the US. Competing interests: none

Animal bites
Each year in the UK, approximately 250,000 people attend emergency departments for the treatment of dog bites. And about 10% of patients will develop an infection. And that is just dogs. Animal bites are a common and serious problem - it is important that we get the assessment and management of this condition right. To find out more details about this problem and what we can do about it, please do listen to his podcast interview with Dr Oliver Spencer, Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Croydon University Hospital NHS Trust.
Competing interests: none

Burns are a common injury. The exact prevalence is difficult to know, as many people will not seek medical advice. But we do know that around 13,000 people in the UK require hospital attention from specialist burns services. And burns can cause a range of complications from scarring to sepsis to psychological trauma. So it is important that we get the management of burns right. To find out more details about this problem and what we can do about it, please do listen to his podcast interview with Professor Rob Sheridan, Associate Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School. Competing interests: none

COPD is common. It is the third leading cause of death worldwide, causing 3.23 million deaths in 2019. And anyone who has worked in a hospital will know that exacerbations are common also. So it is important that we get the diagnosis and management of this condition right. To find out more details about this problem and what we can do about it, please do listen to his podcast interview with Neil Greening, Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant Physician at the Institute for Lung Health, Leicester. Competing interests: Dr Greening has received honoraria, lecture fees, travel for conferences and consultancy fees from AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Chiesi, Sanofi and Pulmonx. His Institution has received grant funding and consultancy fees from GSK, and Roche.

Syncope is common. It accounts for approximately 1% of all emergency department visits and 2% of all hospital admissions from the emergency department. Causes include dysrhythmias, pulmonary embolism, subarachnoid haemorrhage, and acute coronary syndrome - to name but a few. So what if anything can we do to ensure that it is diagnosed and managed correctly? To answer this and other important questions, please do have a listen to this podcast interview with Professor Shamai Grossman, Associate Professor of Medicine and Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Competing interests: none

Sepsis is common. In 2018, more than one million US Medicare patients were admitted to hospital with sepsis.
And complications are serious - from renal failure to ARDS to DIC.
So what if anything can we do to ensure that it is diagnosed and managed correctly?
To answer this and other important questions, have a listen to this podcast with Professor Andre Kalil, from the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
For more on sepsis, visit BMJ Best Practice.
Competing interests: none