HEALTH

UK military scientists claim to have developed a blood test that can predict sepsis and save thousands of lives.

Medics trying to combat infection in troops following battlefield injuries say the molecular signature identified predicts the silent killer hours or days before symptoms appear.

Sepsis kills more than 37,000 people a year as symptoms are often mistaken for other common conditions such as a chest infection.

A 10-year study by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) tracked 4,385 patients who were in hospital for surgery and, of these, 155 developed sepsis. The one-hour test predicted sepsis with 97% accuracy.

Dr Roman Lukaszewski, who led the research, said: “If you can give a clinician a heads-up that a patient is likely to develop sepsis it may enable them to change the treatment and persuade them to monitor that patient more closely.”

Patients who can afford it are increasingly being forced to go private for operations such as hip surgery and cataracts. Private companies have seen a 53% rise in take-up in just four years amid growing NHS waiting lists and rationing.

Clinics and private providers charge between £9,000 and £14,000 for a hip replacement, and up to £5,000 for cataract operations.

A trend towards cutting out dairy products could be putting young adults’ bone health at risk in later years.

A survey of 1,000 adults by the Health and Food Supplements Information Service (HSIS) found one in three is limiting dairy. Despite this, uptake of alternative sources of calcium such as soya or nuts is low.

Dietitian Dr Carrie Ruxton, said: “Calcium and vitamin D are vital for optimising bone density yet studies show that we don’t get enough of these nutrients in our diets.”

MARTIN BAGOT is the Mirror’s Health Correspondent