Clare Bankhead

Blood test trend versus single threshold abnormality to discriminate cancer from non-cancer in patients with unexpected weight loss: A retrospective cohort study

Background Unexpected weight loss (UWL) is a non-specific cancer symptom. Abnormalities in the most recent blood test contribute to cancer referral decisions in primary care. Interpreting historical changes (trends) in blood tests could enhance discrimination for undiagnosed canc...

Risk of venous thromboembolism after knee, hip, or shoulder arthroplasty

Aims Arthroplasty is a widely used surgery for end-stage arthritis, but venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains a major postoperative complication. Most previous studies have relied solely on hospital data; no study has examined the effect of national clinical guidelines on the rate...

Iron deficiency testing among people with incident heart failure in primary care

Background Given around 50% of people with heart failure have a degree of iron deficiency, guidelines recommend screening. It is uncertain to what extent this is done in primary care and whether testing is equitable. Aim To report the proportion of people with incident heart fail...