Acute Medicine Journal

27/05/2026

Infective meningitis remains a time-critical diagnosis in acute medicine.

This Clinical Education Summary from Acute Medicine Journal, Volume 24 Issue 2 highlights diagnostic and management trends across 298 meningitis cases, including case mix, diagnostic yield, pathway delays and priorities for improving care.

Key messages include earlier use of culture-independent diagnostics, reducing delays to antibiotics and lumbar puncture, and standardising antimicrobial decisions once results are available.

This visual summary is intended for education and discussion. Please refer to the full article and local guidance for clinical decision-making.

20/05/2026

🧠 Infective meningitis: conclusions and priorities

To close our 4-part series, this final slide highlights what acute care teams can act on now, based on findings from Acute Medicine Journal, Volume 24 Issue 2.

Key priorities include embedding CSF and serum PCR early in the pathway, reducing door-to-antibiotic and door-to-lumbar puncture times, and standardising antimicrobial decisions once diagnostic information becomes clearer.

📌 Take-home message: faster diagnosis, faster antibiotics and faster lumbar puncture could substantially improve meningitis care across acute pathways.

Read more from Acute Medicine Journal: https://acutemedjournal.co.uk/

19/05/2026

🧠 Infective meningitis: diagnostic pathway and delays

Slide 3 of our 4-part series focuses on where the meningitis pathway can fall short, using findings from Acute Medicine Journal, Volume 24 Issue 2.

The data highlight that culture-independent tests showed higher detection rates but were underused. Time-to-intervention also remains a key challenge, with delays seen in empiric antibiotics and lumbar puncture.

📌 Key message: rapid diagnostics and faster pathway steps are major opportunities for improving infective meningitis care across acute settings.

Read more from Acute Medicine Journal: https://acutemedjournal.co.uk/

18/05/2026

🧠 Infective meningitis: case mix and clinical patterns

Slide 2 of our 4-part series looks at what 298 meningitis cases looked like in the 10-year review featured in Acute Medicine Journal, Volume 24 Issue 2.

Viral meningitis was the most common group, accounting for 184 cases, and was often associated with shorter hospital stays. Bacterial, TB and fungal meningitis were less frequent, but carried higher acuity, longer admissions and greater complexity.

📌 Clinical insight: understanding the case mix helps acute care teams recognise risk, interpret presentations early, and prioritise investigations and treatment.

Read more from Acute Medicine Journal: https://acutemedjournal.co.uk/

15/05/2026

🧠 Infective meningitis: diagnosis and management trends over 10 years

Today’s slide introduces findings from Acute Medicine Journal, Volume 24 Issue 2, highlighting a 10-year review of 298 infective meningitis cases.

Key message: meningitis care still faces delays in essential interventions, and rapid diagnostics remain underused. Early pathogen identification can support faster decision-making, reduce unnecessary antimicrobial exposure, and shorten hospital stay.

📌 Follow this 4-part series as we explore the case mix, diagnostic pathway, delays, and priorities for improving acute meningitis care.

Read more from Acute Medicine Journal: https://acutemedjournal.co.uk/

13/05/2026

Acute and urgent care depends on rapid recognition, structured assessment and clear decision-making.

This infographic highlights six essentials for safe front-line management, from triage and ABCDE assessment to recognising deterioration, communicating effectively and planning safe discharge or admission.

A practical reminder for busy acute care teams.

18/07/2023

🔬 New research highlights the increasing number of ED visits by older patients in the Netherlands, despite a decrease in total ED visits. From 2016-2019, there was a surge in ED visits by those aged 70+, with or without admission. However, this slight rise in older patients is in line with the overall increase in the elderly population in the country. It seems that crowding in Dutch EDs can't simply be attributed to the numbers of older patients alone. As we explore the complex issues of ED crowding, this study suggests a need for further research into other contributing factors, like the complexity of care needs within the ageing population. Check out the study for more details ➡️

https://ow.ly/Yckp50PeVBr

14/06/2023

📣 The latest issue of the Acute Medicine Journal is now available online. Packed with cutting-edge research, insightful case studies, and expert commentary, Volume 22 Issue 2 is a must-read for all healthcare professionals in the field of acute medicine. 🩺🔬 Dive in to enrich your knowledge and stay ahead in your practice. Check it out here 👉 https://ow.ly/LJ1J50OO0Mu Don't forget to share with your peers!

27/03/2023

Clinical decision-making is a core skill for the practice of medicine, and yet, during training, there is often little formal analysis of the process of clinical reasoning or instruction about how to do it better.
This paper reviews the process of clinical decision-making with a particular focus on diagnostic reasoning. Aspects of psychology and philosophy are applied to the process along with consideration of potential sources of error and the steps that can be taken to minimize this.

http://ow.ly/Jlki50NsVNj

19/08/2018

Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has seen steady growth in its use and applications in aiding clinicians in the management of acutely unwell patients. Focused Acute Medicine Ultrasound (FAMUS) is the standard created specifically for Acute Medicine physicians and is endorsed by the Society for Acute Medicine and recognised by the Acute Internal Medicine (AIM) training committee as a specialist skill.

Abstract Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has seen steady growth in its use and applications in aiding clinicians in the management of acutely unwell patients. Focused Acute Medicine Ultrasound (FAMUS) is the standard created specifically for Acute Medicine physicians and is endorsed by the Society....