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Practical Patient Care Issue 27


Editorial Editor Tim Gunn


tim.gunn@progressivemediainternational.com Sub-editors Barney Horner, Nikki Peach Group art director Henrik Williams Designer Martin Faulkner Production manager Dave Stanford Head of content Jake Sharp


Commercial Client services executive Ruchita Marwaha Sales manager Martin John Business development manager Shamraiz Ayub shamraiz.ayub@progressivemediainternational.com Managing director William Crocker


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what hasn’t happened. The old leads the new in patient care, where most innovations are focused on improving reactions. Compared with trying to stay ahead of every new type of cool in tech or fashion, it’s refreshingly simple. By accelerating the process of spotting what’s going on with patients, whether that’s in their deepest digestive organs or the wounds on their feet, healthcare systems can improve almost every aspect of what they do. Before Covid-19, cancer was probably the condition the world was most concerned about spotting and stopping. Not that we get to pick a focus. Covid lockdowns have allowed many cancers to grow and spread undetected, making fast, convenient diagnosis a more pressing issue than ever. This edition’s cover story (page 10) looks into liquid biopsy technologies with the potential to find cancers faster and less invasively, dramatically increasing the proportion that can be cured. They are already being used to monitor how cancers respond to treatment in something close to real time, and could soon help predict the likelihood one might return after surgery.


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UK £58 EU €92 US $119 RoW $120 UK £93 EU €144 US $190 RoW $191


Key to this and similar developments discussed throughout this issue is perhaps the most fashionable trend of them all: AI and machine learning (ML). As Mae Losasso finds out on page 44, these technologies can greatly increase turnaround time on diagnostic tests, but it’s on us to use them correctly. Take antimicrobial resistance, as Allie Anderson does on page 35. A quicker, more reliable way to see and identify infections will help us conserve our antibiotics, but unexpected and creative approaches to care are also needed to stop us sliding back into a world where minor bacterial infections kill. Penicillin was discovered – and the world changed – by accident. So, before we ask it to solve all our failings, it’s worth remembering that AI/ML, only capable of reprocessing what’s gone before, is as out of touch as anything can get. Such tools are built for prevention; it’s people that create cures.


Tim Gunn, editor


f you ever feel like you’re trapped behind the times, missing out on something you don’t understand yet, don’t worry – you’re a doctor. This is how it’s meant to be. Diagnosis is always late, and you can’t treat


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