Accredited CPD Modules
Earn up to 3 CPD points per module
MedSpec Publishing offers a trusted platform for continuing professional development (CPD) in South Africa. Our accredited modules allow healthcare professionals to earn valuable CPD points recognized by the HPCSA.
Please ensure your HPCSA number is correctly entered in your profile so that all completed CPDs are accurately recorded.
Accredited CPD Modules
Earn up to 3 CPD points per module
MedSpec Publishing offers a trusted platform for continuing professional development (CPD) in South Africa. Our accredited modules allow healthcare professionals to earn valuable CPD points recognized by the HPCSA.
Please ensure your HPCSA number is correctly entered in your profile so that all completed CPDs are accurately recorded.
EZCPD #1 Pain 2024
In patients with interstitial cystitis or bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS), 85% were found to have pelvic floor myofascial| pain (PFMP) and hypertonicity (PFH). However, physicians are not typically trained to consider or assess PFMP as a contributing factor to patients’ IC/BPS symptoms. This study aimed to explore the relationship between PFMP and treatment outcomes in women with IC/BPS. A total of 65 women with IC/BPS (mean age, 57.1 $ 11.3 years) who received any type of treatment were prospectively enrolled. They underwent vaginal digital examination at baseline.
EZCPD #10 Ethics 2024
Increasing time spent with patients could have a significant impact on a number of measures of health outcomes. It takes time to gain a better understanding of patients’ needs and to determine whether and to what extent an individual’s health is influenced by social factors such as poor housing conditions, insufficient access to food, or poor health literacy. To enable a deeper, more meaningful collaborative relationship that improves patient trust, cooperation, and health outcomes, the health care system should better incentivise time spent between patient and clinician.
EZCPD #11 Ethics 2024
The question the authors wish to address is ‘Why, during crises, is it useful for individuals to become buddhas?’, as per the call of Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hanh. A short answer is that because crises provoke anxiety, which in turn impedes individual and collective decision making, mindfulness is needed to calm us to improve our thinking. Applying mindfulness practices to managing crises and anxiety in health care settings and consideration of recovery strategies, techniques for becoming calm, and reminders about why stillness matters for compassionate practice in health care are explored in this review.
EZCPD #2 Respiratory 2024
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a threat to global health and development and it contributes to millions of deaths worldwide each year. Inappropriate use and overuse of antibiotics are driving an increase in AMR and have a detrimental impact on the effectiveness of these critical medicines. Through the Global Action Plan on AMR, WHO is working to improve the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and reduce inappropriate antibiotic consumption.
There is a recognised need for high-quality resources to improve antibiotic prescribing globally. To address this need, a pragmatic approach was taken by WHO to develop actionable guidance for empiric antibiotic use.
EZCPD #3 Mental Health 2024
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and subanaesthetic intravenous ketamine are both currently used for treatment-resistant major depression, but the comparative effectiveness of the two treatments has not yet been compared. The purpose of this open-label, randomised, noninferiority trial involving patients referred to ECT clinics for treatment-resistant major depression was to compare the efficacy of ECT and IV ketamine in treatment-resistant depression (TRD).
EZCPD #4 Hypertension 2024
The utility of antihypertensives and ideal blood pressure (BP) for dementia prevention in late life remains unclear. Therefore, to evaluate the associations of hypertension history, antihypertensive use, and baseline measured BP in late life (age >60 years) with dementia and the moderating factors of age, sex, and racial group, investigators performed a meta-analysis using data from 17 longitudinal, population-based studies of aging participating in the Cohort Studies of Memory in an International Consortium (COSMIC) group.
EZCPD #5 Cardiology 2024
In the EMPA-REG OUTCOME (Empagliflozin Cardiovascular Outcome Event Trial in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients) study, empagliflozin reduced risk of CV death or hospitalisation for heart failure (HHF) by 34% in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular (CV) disease. Because there has been limited evaluation of clinical phenotypes in this type of patient, investigators used latent class analysis (LCA) of the EMPA-REG OUTCOME study to identify distinct phenotypes in subjects with T2D and CV disease and explore treatment effects across phenotypes.
EZCPD #6 GERD 2024
Oesophageal variceal bleeding is a common complication of decompensated liver cirrhosis (LC). Some studies have reported that reflux oesophagitis (RE) is a risk factor for upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and greatly impacts the quality of life in patients with LC. However, the frequency and mechanism of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in LC remain unclear. In this review article the authors explore the possible pathogenesis, and analyse the advantages and disadvantages of interventional measures.
EZCPD #7 Gastro 2024
Peptic ulcers in patients receiving aspirin are associated with Helicobacter pylori infection. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether H. pylori eradication would protect against aspirin-associated ulcer bleeding. Investigators conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (Helicobacter Eradication Aspirin Trial [HEAT]) at 1 208 primary care centres in the UK, using routinely collected clinical data. Eligible patients were aged 60 years or older who were receiving aspirin at a daily dose of 325 mg or less (with four or more 28-day prescriptions in the past year) and had a positive C13 urea breath test for H. pylori at screening. Patients receiving ulcerogenic or gastroprotective medication were excluded.
EZCPD #8 Depression & Anxiety 2024
Misophonia is a sound sensitivity disorder characterised by unusually strong aversions to a specific class of sounds (e.g., eating sounds). The purpose of this study was to describe the mental health profile in children who develop misophonia, examining depression, anxiety and ADHD. The participants were members of the birth cohort ALSPAC (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children). The subjects were screened for misophonia as adults, and their mental health data then from ages 7 to 16 years inclusive, reported from both children and parents, were examined retrospectively.
EZCPD #9 Cardiology 2024
The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy and safety of outpatient treatment of worsening heart failure (WHF) with intravenous diuretics. It was a multicentre retrospective observational study that included patients with all types of heart failure (HF): heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF), and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The patients were 18 years or older, had symptoms of WHF, had weight gain of more than 2 kg, and were not responding to up-titrating of oral diuretic therapy.
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