Hepatitis C treatment will be improved with a point-of-care test that can diagnose active infection within an hour, based on a fingerstick sample, NSW researchers say.

When this woman drank baking soda to relieve her indigestion, she literally felt something "exploding inside of her". The 54-year-old ingested half a glass of sodium bicarbonate after a big meal and immediately experienced a stabbing pain in her upper abdomen, vomiting and diarrhoea.

PPIs increase the risk of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection by more than half, according to a new meta-analysis. The JAMA study reviewed data from more than 7000 patients with C. difficile infection from 16 observational studies.

People are much more likely to participate in the bowel cancer screening program if their GP talks to them about it, according to South Australian research.

US researchers have come up with a way of taking the 'ick' factor out of faecal transplants, which are remarkably effective in treating refractory Clostridium difficile infection.  

Patients discharged from hospital on PPIs are now being given a deprescribing plan to avoid inappropriate long-term use in a move backed by gastroenterologists.

Doctors need to be aware of a higher risk of gastroenteritis when prescribing PPIs, say Australian researchers. Data from nearly 40,000 people in the 45 and Up study showed a 70% increased risk of hospitalisation for infectious gastroenteritis in people using PPIs.

When a woman presented to doctors with left-sided abdominal pain, they mistakenly diagnosed her with diverticulitis, until a colonoscopy revealed a lucky break. The 75-year-old presented to a clinic in Serbia with a seven-day history of nausea, left iliac fossa pain and a mild fever.

Dr Jacinta Johnson (PhD), a clinical pharmacist at Flinders Medical Centre, SA, explains her research findings on the misuse of OTC analgesics.

The initial symptoms of pancreatic cancer are non-specific and give little or no guidance on the presence of the disease, a major UK study has confirmed.