Volume 7, Number 1, Jan-Feb-Mar 2010
POPULAR
TOPICBACK TO BASICSDiagnosing diabetes
POPULAR
TOPICDISEASE FOCUSPalpitations: careful assessment reduces the time to diagnosis
Andreas Wolff, Matthew Fay Palpitations are a common presentation in general practice and a frequent reason for cardiology referrals. They generally cause considerable distress and anxiety to the patient and can also evoke feelings of uncertainty in the health professional consulted, but the good news is that palpitations are often benign. The skill lies in identifying patients with a significant heart rhythm abnormality that could be helped by treatment and those at risk of adverse outcome. This can be achieved by taking a careful history and simple investigations. EDITORIALEditorial
Jan Procter-King Welcome to the first issue of BJPCN for 2010 – a new year and a new decade! How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions? I have recently lost quite a bit of weight and feel so much better, both physically and mentally. This has prompted me to reflect on how people decide to change and how they act on that decision, so I would like to share some
of my thoughts and the approach I have adopted as a result. EVIDENCE IN PRACTICEEvidence in Practice
There are just not enough hours in the day to read all the research journals, even if you wanted to. This section of BJPCN – Evidence in Practice – will keep you on top of relevant research without having to spend hours in the library. Each review gives you a bite-size summary of new research, pulling out key points for primary care and recommending the action
that you might consider taking. HAVE YOU HEARD?Have you Heard?
... PREVENTION IN PRACTICEAvoiding weight gain after stopping smoking
Sue Baic Stopping smoking is associated with considerable health benefits and large numbers of smokers want to quit. However, concern about weight gain is one of the reasons people often give for not being able to quit smoking. It often reinforces the decision to continue smoking, particularly in women and young people who may mistakenly believe that smoking is an effective way to control their weight. Even if an individual successfully quits smoking, weight gain can often be the factor that causes relapse. What can we do to help? QUALITY MATTERSProviding the best care for patients with leg ulcers
Susan Knight Over the years, many of the conversations I have had with patients and nurses have been about leg ulcers. It seems that there is a fear or stigma about leg ulcers, as if labelling a wound on the lower leg an ulcer will somehow make it harder to heal. In a busy practice it may seem pointless to perform a full assessment on a patient presenting with a small traumatic wound on their lower leg. But it is important to acknowledge the risk of progression from a simple wound to chronic leg ulceration and to assess patients fully for any problems that may influence wound healing or may have contributed to the tissue damage. POPULAR
TOPICKEEP AND COPYWhat you need to know about having an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)
This leaflet is intended to provide information for people who have been advised to have a glucose tolerance test. It is very important to follow the guidelines given below so that your test is accurate and you don’t need to repeat it. POPULAR
TOPICPATIENTS AS PARTNERSUnderstanding end-of-life care in advanced kidney disease
Karen Jenkins People with advanced kidney disease are required to make many choices about their treatment throughout the journey of this disease. Opting not to have dialysis or to withdraw from treatment is a difficult decision and there are many factors that influence patients’ decisions. For those who choose not to have dialysis, the implications need to be understood by the patient, their family and carers and healthcare professionals involved in their care. This article provides an update on this important issue to equip primary care nurses with a clear understanding of end-of-life care for patients with advanced kidney disease. HANDS ONTaking the heartache out of angina
Bev Cox Angina is common, particularly among older people. It affects around one in ten women and up to one in five men aged 65 and over. The good news is that the outlook for patients with stable angina is relatively good as long as we help them to take appropriate prevention measures. Unstable angina has a more variable prognosis, but effective prevention can again help to reduce the risk of heart attack. How can we optimise the diagnosis and ongoing care for the many people in our practices with angina?
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