IDUs should be considered at high risk of developing DVT and should be investigated accordingly.

Elderly diabetic patients are at especially high risk of developing hypoglycaemia, diabetic retinopathy, foot ulcers and infection. We have surveyed 100 elderly diabetic inpatients to assess level of diabetes supervision, prevalence of risk factors for complications, and uptake of chiropody and fundoscopic services. Of all the diabetic patients, 19% received no supervision. A large proportion (71%) had two or more risk factors for the development of foot complications, yet only 50% had seen a chiropodist within the preceding 12 months. Forty-eight per cent did not undergo annual fundoscopic examination and 14 patients were regularly taking long-acting oral hypoglycaemic agents. The results highlight the particular needs of elderly diabetic patients and a strategy should be devised to optimize the care of these patients.

No abstract

This article examines some of the recent advances in haematology in both the malignant and non-malignant areas of the speciality. Improvements in survival rates after effective chemotherapy now present the haematologist with the challenges of how to minimise therapeutic side effects without affecting outcome and the role of stratification as well as specific monitoring of enzyme activity are discussed. Many treatments for haematological malignancy have significant late effects which are only now becoming a problem--what these are, how to identify them and how they can be limited are examined. The increased knowledge of the altered pathways that lead to malignancy has allowed a whole slew of new therapies to be developed often with excellent results. The role of new iron chelation agents and the so called 'universal haemostatic agent' activated factor VII are also discussed.