A parent-completed digital check caught 94% of toddlers with developmental conditions

The edition in brief

In 40 Australian general practices, parents of toddlers aged 16–35 months completed the Watch Me Grow Integrated digital screener, with results sent to both parent and GP and automatic reminders at later ages. Against a full reference assessment, its sensitivity was 93.9% compared with 75.9% for usual GP assessment, with similar specificity (71% vs 67%). An American Family Physician review sets out a systematic approach to ear pain: otitis media, otitis externa and eustachian tube dysfunction are the common primary causes, while dental, temporomandibular and cervical sources account for much referred pain, and persistent, severe or unilateral symptoms are red flags. A qualitative study of 32 women in a UK trial of D-mannose found recurrent urinary tract infection shaped daily life through dread and vigilance, and that clinicians' responses sometimes left them feeling helpless. A Turkish follow-up of older adults who attended a smoking cessation clinic found 36% of those reached were not smoking years later, and 81% of current smokers wanted help to try again, though most of the cohort could not be contacted.