The Q&A beta testing has been going for just over a week. After 24 hours I described he trial as a rollercoaster, that is still the case and the trial is currently paused – hardly ideal.

The pause was triggered by informal feedback from a user who had asked about strength training for knee osteoarthritis. They felt the response was poor and lacked key references. Curious, I ran a quick search on Trip for strength training AND knee osteoarthritis and found plenty of systematic reviews. So why did the Q&A system miss them? It turned out the system was searching the free version of Trip, not the Pro version. And that’s a crucial difference—because the free version is missing nearly half a million systematic reviews, including those vital to answering the question properly.

It’s definitely a setback, with potential implications for many of the Q&As the system has previously answered. That said, this is exactly what beta testing is for – identifying issues so we can improve the final version – we’ve uncovered a major flaw and we’re already working on fixing it.

There are plenty of positives too. We’ve had well over 100 questions submitted (a sample are shown below), which suggests testers are coming back and engaging with the system – an encouraging sign that they like it. Many of these questions likely weren’t affected by the missing systematic reviews. Plus, a number of Q&As have been externally reviewed, and the quality of the answers remains strong.

Hopefully, the systematic review issue will be resolved today, allowing us to re-open the beta. Then, we’ll move into the user feedback stage next week.

Will the rollercoaster ever stop?

A sample of the questions we’ve answered:

🧠 Mental Health
– Do different age groups have different outcomes with rTMS for depression?

– Can GLP-1 drugs increase the risk of suicidality and self-harm in people with diabetes or obesity?

– Does magnesium supplementation help improve sleep?

❤️ Cardiology & Blood Health
– SGLT2 inhibitors: Do they reduce heart failure mortality?

– What’s the target blood pressure according to ESC 2024 guidelines?

– Low-dose aspirin for primary prevention: What do the latest guidelines say?

– Are there benefits and risks to long-term anticoagulation for VTE prevention?

🦴 Musculoskeletal & Rehab
– What’s the best evidence-based treatment for frozen shoulder?

– Strength training vs. other treatments in knee osteoarthritis

– Diagnosing a syndesmosis ankle injury

– When can kidney donors return to normal activity after surgery?

🧬 Endocrinology & Metabolism
– Is type 2 diabetes a disease — and what organ is affected?

– What cholesterol changes are caused by Actemra?

– Does endometriosis cause or result from infertility?

– Zoledronic acid: How it works and its role in treating osteoporosis

🧒 Paediatrics
– Best practices to prevent surgical site infections in post-op pediatric abdominal surgery

– Are there any unique Tdap booster recommendations for adults in contact with infants or who are pregnant?

🦠 Infectious Diseases
– Managing iatrogenic UTI caused by MDR Klebsiella

– Tetanus booster after Td: Is Tdap now recommended, and what’s the schedule?

🧘‍♂️ Complementary & Lifestyle Medicine
– Does magnesium help with sleep or muscle cramps?

– How does the patient experience shape care in primary care settings?

🧪 Pharmacology & Guidelines
– What are the effects of Actemra on cholesterol?

– How do different anticoagulation durations compare in terms of safety and efficacy?

🧠 Neurology & Imaging
– Predicting hospital stay with the Modified Rankin Scale

– What conditions (other than pneumothorax) show a lung point on ultrasound?

– How to conduct a peripheral neurological assessment

🧬 Genetics & Rare Conditions
– Are people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome at increased risk of periodontitis?

🩺 Kidney Health
– What’s the living kidney donor work-up process?

– How long is recovery and medication use for recipients of kidney transplants?

– What are the surgical risks of living kidney donation?