BMJ Best Practice Podcast
Episodes
Migraine
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Migraine is very common, affecting an estimated 1.16 billion people worldwide. It is one of the most disabling neurological disorders. So it is vital ...
Comorbidities
02 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Comorbidities are common and important and have a massive impact on the delivery of care. The BMJ Best Practice Comorbidities Manager is designed to h...
Shared decision making
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
BMJ Best Practice is our clinical decision support resource. It is designed to help healthcare professionals make better informed clinical decisions. ...
Mumps
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mumps used to be a common childhood disease. Then it became a lot less common because of vaccination. But now unfortunately it is becoming more common...
Pertussis
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pertussis or whooping cough is an acute infectious disease caused by Bordetella pertussis. It is highly contagious, highly serious, and highly prevent...
Social anxiety disorder
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Social anxiety disorder is common. The 1-year point prevalence rate is about 7% and the estimated lifetime prevalence about 12%. And social anxiety di...
Measles
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Measles is a serious disease. Unfortunately, it is making a comeback. So we need to know how to diagnose, manage and prevent it. To find out more abou...
Asthma in children
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Paediatric asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease globally and is a significant cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. So it is im...
Factitious disorders
22 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It is difficult to say how common factitious disorders are. A review of psychiatric consultations in a tertiary care setting found about 1% of referra...
Down syndrome
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Down syndrome is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability, occurring in 1 in about 800 births worldwide. Children and adults with Down...
Generalised seizures in adults
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 2016, the estimated number of people globally with active epilepsy was 45.9 million. For the US in 2015, this figure was around 3.4 million. So epi...
Measles, mumps and rubella vaccination
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Measles, mumps and rubella are all serious illnesses. They are also all preventable. Vaccination is safe and effective. But take up of the vaccine is ...
Hypercholesterolemia
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hypercholesterolemia is common condition with serious consequences. It is important that we assess, diagnose and manage it appropriately. To find out ...
BMJ Best Practice and patient safety
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The purpose of BMJ Best Practice is to provide knowledge that will help healthcare professionals deliver better care. In this podcast, Dr Clare Mock e...
Hyperkalemia
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hyperkalemia is common and can be serious. It can result in life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias. So it is important that we assess this problem prope...
Hypothyroidism
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hypothyroidism is common. The prevalence of overt hypothyroidism in the general population ranges between 0.2 and 5%. And it can cause a range of comp...
Wrist fracture
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wrist fractures are common. They can occur in older women with osteoporosis and low-impact injury. Or young men with high-impact injuries. And they...
Tourette syndrome
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tourette syndrome has a prevalence of 0.6% in children and adolescents ages 6 to 17 years, with about half of patients undiagnosed. And Tourette syndr...
Cervical spine injuries
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cervical spine injuries result primarily from car accidents, falls, and sports activities (such as rugby or diving into shallow water). They can occur...
BMJ Best Practice Comorbidities Manager
02 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comorbidities are common and important in all countries around the world. They have a significant impact on patients and healthcare providers. The BMJ...
Asthma
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Acute severe asthma is common. The global prevalence, morbidity and mortality, and economic burden caused by asthma have progressively increased over ...
ST-elevation myocardial infarction
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
ST-elevation myocardial infarction is a common and important condition. Myocardial infarction is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality so it is v...
Panic disorder
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Panic disorder is common. The prevalence of panic disorder is 2% to 3% in adults and adolescents. And panic disorder can cause distress, substance abu...
Uterine fibroids
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Uterine fibroids are common. They represent the most common solid tumours of the female pelvis and are a leading indication for hysterectomy. And comp...
BMJ Best Practice and The Darzi Review
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Darzi report states that “a recurring theme is that the recommendations of previous reviews have not been universally adopted.” So can we do b...
Testicular cancer
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Among men aged 15 to 44 years, testicular tumours are the most common cancer diagnosed. And testicular cancer can cause considerable morbidity and mo...
Precocious puberty
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The prevalence of precocious puberty is difficult to estimate - it is probably between 1 in 500 and 1 in 5000 children. Unfortunately, complications...
Upper Airway Cough Syndrome
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chronic cough is common. And from 10% to 70% of patients with chronic cough may have upper airway cough syndrome. So it is important that we get the d...
Type 2 diabetes
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Type 2 diabetes is common. It accounts for over 90% of all diabetes, and has a prevalence of 8.5% in the US. And complications are common as well - fr...
Hyperthyroidism
29 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hyperthyroidism The global prevalence of overt hyperthyroidism is between 0.2% to 1%. Graves disease is the most common form of hyperthyroidism in mos...
Pre eclampsia
15 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Pre eclampsia Pre-eclampsia is common. It has been reported to affect between 2% and 8% of all pregnancies worldwide. And complications are common a...
BMJ Best Practice: Improving Primary Care
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
BMJ Best Practice is freely available in England, Scotland and Wales. And in many other institutions around the world. We want to ensure that it is us...
Acute otitis media
17 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 complicat...
Animal bites
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Burns
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 p...
COPD: an update on diagnosis and management
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 kn...
Syncope
26 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Syncope is common. It accounts for approximately 1% of all emergency department visits and 2% of all hospital admissions from the emergency department...
Sepsis in adults
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sepsis is common. In 2018, more than one million US Medicare patients were admitted to hospital with sepsis. And complications are serious - from rena...
Acne vulgaris
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Acne is a common condition. The Global Burden of Disease estimates the prevalence of acne to be 8%, ranking it the eighth most prevalent disease wor...
Cervical spine injury
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cervical spine injuries result primarily from motor vehicle accidents, sports activities, and diving into shallow water. These mainly happen with you...
Croup
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Croup is a frequent cause of acute respiratory distress in young children. Typically, it affects those between six months and three years of age, peak...
Frostbite
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the climate changes, we are getting more diseases associated with extremes of temperature - such as frostbite. Frostbite is classically associated ...
Alcohol-associated liver disease
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A US study of high-risk drinking patterns suggests that deaths due to alcohol-associated liver disease are expected to double in the next twenty years...
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) has an incidence of 64 per 100,000 per year, increasing by 40% with each decade of life. This means about ...
Community acquired pneumonia
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2019, lower respiratory tract infections affected 489 million people worldwide, and were the cause for approximately 2.5 million deaths. Children l...
Primary hyperparathyroidism
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Primary hyperparathyroidism is a common disorder affecting 1 in 500 women and 1 in 2000 men aged over 40 years. It can cause a range of complications ...
Diabetic foot disease
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide. Diabetic foot disease is an all too common complication. And it can cause a ra...
Type 2 diabetes in children
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the UK, the prevalence rate of type 2 diabetes in children is approximately 2.9 per 100,000. This number is rising and another constant has been th...
Endometriosis: an update on diagnosis and management
26 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition defined by endometrial stroma and glands found outside of the uterine cavity. The most common sites ...
Fibrocystic breasts: an update on diagnosis and management
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Fibrocystic breasts are common. The incidence peaks at 400 per 100,000 woman-years at the age of 40 to 44. The condition can cause pain and tenderne...
Menopause
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The diagnosis of menopause is clinical, based on the absence of menses for 12 months, and does not require further testing for appropriately presentin...
How to model safe clinical practice
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are concerns that junior healthcare professionals do not use decision support as they don’t see senior staff using it. There are concerns that...
Adhesive capsulitis
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Adhesive capsulitis affects 2% to 5% of the population. It is slightly more common in women than in men, and is most common in people between the ages...
Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD)
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is a common condition that affects between 10% and 30% of people in developed countries. There can be a rang...
Snoring
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Snoring is common. In the 30- to 35-year-old age group, 20% of men and 5% of women snore. By 60, 60% of men and 40% of women will snore habitually. A...
Age-related macular degeneration: an update on diagnosis and management
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Age-related macular degeneration is the third most common cause of visual impairment worldwide. The main risk is advanced disease and resultant visual...
Cluster headache: an update on diagnosis and management
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The prevalence of cluster headache is about one in 500. In people coming to a headache clinic, the prevalence is about 10%. Cluster headaches are exc...
Spinal cord compression: an update on diagnosis and management
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Spinal cord compression is an extremely serious disorder that can have devastating consequences. These include weakness of the legs, bladder and bowel...
Halitosis: an update on diagnosis and management
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Halitosis is common and can affect people of all ages. Severe halitosis is less common but it can affect confidence and quality of life. It can even r...
Osteoarthritis
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We release episodes fortnightly. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It is more common in women than in men, with incidence increasin...
Data, AI, oncology and patients
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We release episodes fortnightly. Data, AI, oncology, and patients are a wide range of subjects to be addressed in one podcast. Individually they are b...
Carotid artery stenosis: an update on diagnosis and management
11 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We release episodes fortnightly. Stroke is the fourth and fifth leading cause of death in the UK and US, respectively. There are more than 100,000 str...
Bell’s palsy: an update on diagnosis and management
04 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We release episodes fortnightly. Bell's palsy is the most common unilateral facial palsy in adults. It is most prevalent in people between 15 and 45 y...
Hypothermia: an update on diagnosis and management
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We release episodes fortnightly. Hypothermia is a serious condition - it can cause rhabdomyolysis, electrolyte disturbances, and cardiac arrhythmias. ...
Rosacea: an update on diagnosis and management
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We release episodes fortnightly. Rosacea is a common disorder. Studies suggest a prevalence of 5% for women and 4% for men. And rosacea can cause a r...
Parkinson’s disease
07 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We release episodes fortnightly. Parkinson's disease is a common and serious condition. It is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the...
Data and healthcare
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Data and big data in healthcare are both important and topical. Big data has the potential to transform how we provide healthcare but can also be prob...
Herpes zoster infection
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Herpes zoster: an update on diagnosis and management The annual incidence of herpes zoster in the UK is between 2 and 4 patients per thousand populati...
Status epilepticus
14 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Status epilepticus is a serious medical emergency. Fortunately, it is relatively rare but when it does occur it can cause a range of serious complicat...
Acute pancreatitis
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Acute pancreatitis: an update on diagnosis and management Acute pancreatitis is a common and serious condition. The incidence of acute pancreatitis i...
COPD - an update on diagnosis and management
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is common. The pooled global prevalence is 15% in men and 9% in women. The expanding epidemic of smoking...
TIA - an update on diagnosis and management
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Transient ischemic attacks are common - in the UK, the US and around the world. And they are important – mainly because of the high risk of stroke f...
New-onset atrial fibrillation
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained heart rhythm disorder in adults worldwide. The prevalence is between 2% and 4%. If left untreated, at...
Ankylosing spondylitis
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Axial spondyloarthritis is a chronic progressive inflammatory arthropathy, which ultimately may lead to radiographical changes in the spine and sacroi...
Ischaemic stroke
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ischaemic stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. The World Health Organization defines stroke as “a clinical syndrome consisting of ...
Essential tremor
06 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Essential tremor is characterised by a progressive tremor of the upper extremities, present in posture and action, without other neurological signs or...
Asthma In adults
09 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Patients with asthma present with recurrent episodes of shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing, or coughing. Examination typically demonstrat...
Bacterial meningitis
25 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bacterial meningitis represents a life-threatening inflammation of the meninges. Elisabeth Adderson, Associate Member, St. Jude Faculty, Director, Pe...
Type 1 diabetes
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterised by hyperglycaemia due to absolute insulin deficiency. The condition develops due to des...
Generalised anxiety disorder
28 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common condition defined as chronic, excessive worry for at least six months that causes distress or impairmen...
Lyme disease
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lyme disease is an infectious disease transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks. Erythema migrans develops at the site of tick bite us...
Jet lag
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jet lag and sleep phase disorders affect millions of travellers worldwide. Rapid change in time zone produces a constellation of symptoms called jet l...
Post-traumatic stress disorder
05 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Post-traumatic stress disorder may develop (either immediately or delayed) following exposure to a stressful event or situation of an exceptionally th...
Chronic congestive heart failure
20 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Chronic congestive heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome that can result from any structural or functional cardiac disorder that impairs the ab...
COVID-19: Vaccine immunogenicity, interleukin-6 inhibitors, mucormycosis
28 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kieran Walsh, clinical director at BMJ, asks editors from BMJ Learning and BMJ Best Practice to summarise the latest clinical guidance related to Covi...
Persistent depressive disorder
19 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Persistent depressive disorder is a category that includes various forms of chronic depression in which depressive symptoms are present 'more days tha...
Chronic sinusitis
19 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Chronic sinusitis is inflammation of the paranasal sinuses lasting more than 12 weeks. Symptoms include facial pressure, rhinorrhoea, postnasal drain...
Bulimia nervosa
28 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder, characterised by severe preoccupation about weight and body shape. Includes recurrent episodes of binge eating ...
Giant cell arteritis
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Giant cell arteritis is a common form of vasculitis in people aged 50 years or older. The extracranial branches of the carotid artery are usually affe...
Covid-19: Vaccination in pregnancy, myocardial infarction, and respiratory conditions
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kieran Walsh, clinical director at BMJ, asks editors from BMJ Learning and BMJ Best Practice to summarise the latest clinical guidance related to covi...
Covid-19 update: Blood clots, acute kidney injury, VTE prevention, secondary bacterial pneumonia
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kieran Walsh, clinical director at BMJ, asks editors from BMJ Learning and BMJ Best Practice to summarise the latest clinical guidance related to covi...
Depression in adults
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Depression can describe both a mood and an illness. Major depressive disorder is a clinical syndrome involving mood, neurovegetative functions, cogni...
Constipation in children
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Childhood constipation is typically characterised by infrequent bowel evacuations, large stools, and difficult or painful defecation. Symptoms may re...
Raynaud’s phenomenon
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is characterised by vasospasm that causes digits to change colour to white (pallor) from lack of blood flow, usually brought...
Chronic kidney disease
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common condition that is often unrecognised until the most advanced stages. The most common causes are diabetes mel...
Covid-19 update: Management, vaccination and chronic conditions
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kieran Walsh, clinical director at BMJ, asks editors from BMJ Learning and BMJ Best Practice to summarise the latest clinical guidance related to covi...
Depression in children
21 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Depression in children is characterised by sad or irritable mood, anhedonia, decreased capacity to have fun, decreased self-esteem, sleep disturbance,...
Covid-19 update: Vaccination, long covid-19, endocrine conditions, bronchiolitis
14 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kieran Walsh, clinical director at BMJ, asks editors from BMJ Learning and BMJ Best Practice to summarise the latest clinical guidance related to covi...
Covid-19: Vaccination, remdesivir, and comorbidities
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Kieran Walsh, clinical director at BMJ, asks editors from BMJ Learning and BMJ Best Practice to summarise the latest clinical guidance related to covi...
Acute asthma exacerbations in children
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Asthma exacerbations present with acute or sub-acute onset of wheeze and respiratory distress, the symptoms and signs of which vary depending on the d...