Maltings Training

01/11/2025

31/10/2025

‘FAST’ v’s ‘BE-FAST’ for Stroke Recognition
A new study has shown that adding the BE to FAST doesn’t improve stroke symptom recognition among the general public, even though this is now the acronym gravitated towards by stroke teams, and specialist stroke centers.
The addition of Balance and Eye changes (BE) to FAST — Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, and Time to call 999 — does not significantly increase the likelihood of bystanders immediately calling emergency services when a stroke is suspected.
The study showed FAST performed significantly better than BE-FAST in terms of recalling key face, arm, and speech symptoms. The findings were presented on February 5th at the International Stroke Conference (ISC) 2025. Los Angeles, California.
FAST More Effective for the Public ?
FAST, which has been used in the stroke community for over 20 years, captures only about 80% of all strokes. As it doesn’t encapsulate all possible stroke symptoms, there was a concern that bystanders were not understanding that if you suddenly have an issue with vision, or with balance, that these could also be stroke-like symptoms. This has led stroke neurologists to start using BE-FAST, which allows the identification of posterior circulation, or back of the brain, strokes that are missed somewhat by FAST.
Many stroke neurologists were under the impression that because BE-FAST includes more symptoms, it would be better at triggering emergency action by the general public, but this has now been found to create some confusion, as this study has found a higher letter recognition in the FAST group tested than in the BE-FAST group (70% vs 50%). For awareness of stroke signs and symptoms.

Ref : ‘FAST’ Acronym Beats ‘BE-FAST’ for Prompt Stroke Response - Medscape - February 13, 2025

25/10/2025

Infants under 1 year old are more likely to die from choking on objects than on food, according to a new analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data presented at the American Academy of Paediatrics Conference in the USA.

The study reviewed mortality rates from 2018 to 2023, comparing food and object-related choking deaths across the lifespan. Researchers found that during the first year of life, object-related choking deaths significantly outnumbered food-related deaths. Food-related choking peaked at age 1, when self-feeding becomes more common, while overall rates declined through early childhood.

These findings point to the importance of educating families and care providers about hazards beyond the highchair. While we’ve done a great job educating families on food textures and portion sizes, we also need to be just as vigilant about non-food items in the home eg coins, buttons, batteries, small toy parts etc.
Infants explore the world with their mouths, and as parents and caregivers we’re very vigilant when it comes to feeding them when they’re at the table, but vigilance shouldn’t wane once children become toddlers, when they’re crawling or taking their first steps there are potentially a lot of other choking hazards around them. It’s important to get down on the ground, or make sure you’re really diligent about vacuuming.
For carers of infants under 1 year, education should emphasize object hazards, while at around age 1, when self-feeding accelerates, food risks become more prominent.
Food-related choking deaths don’t disappear when your infant turns 1, if anything, they actually increase. The safest way for babies to eat is to be seated and not distracted.
Ref : “Infants More Likely to Die From Choking on Objects Than on Food”,Medscape - October 02, 2025.



Upcoming Paediatric Training Course : Saturday November 22nd.
Contact : derek@maltingstraining / 086.2625994 for details.