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Practitioner CPD prompts to action
Immediate CPD prompts
These templates*, associated with all articles, prompt drafting of personal learning, reflection and planning.
Save your record straight into your personal development folder on your device or cloud storage system.
*Adobe fillable PDFs. Adobe reader needed for iPad
Comment or question
If you, or your peer group, would like to comment on an article or have a question for the authors, write to:
Editor
Case report submissions
Your article would need to be around 1,500 words long, include a brief review of the literature to put the case in context, and be fully referenced in the Vancouver style.
Submissions for consideration for publication should be sent to: [email protected]
Case reports
|Palpitations: when you hear hoof beats don’t forget to think zebras
24 Apr 2017
In general practice palpitations are reported in around 8 per 1,000 persons per year. The differential diagnosis includes cardiac and psychiatric causes, as well as numerous others e.g. anaemia, hyperthyroidism, prescribed medication, caffeine and recreational drugs. Factors that point towards a cardiac aetiology are male sex, irregular heartbeat, history of heart disease, event duration > 5 minutes, frequent palpitations, and palpitations that occur at work or disturb sleep.
The Practitioner
The Practitioner contributes to the formal clinical literature and is primarily aimed at GPs, with subscribers throughout the World. It is also used by doctors preparing for work in the UK. All articles in The Practitioner online include CPD fillable PDF frameworks for personal reflection on learning and drafting of plans that will have an impact on practice. Preset search links to PubMed and NICE Evidence are associated with most major articles.
Symposium
|Managing osteoporosis in postmenopausal women
22 Mar 2018
Most patients with osteoporosis are asymptomatic unless a fragility fracture occurs. A fragility fracture is a type of pathological fracture that occurs as a result of normal activities, such as a fall from standing height or less, lifting, or bending. There are three fracture sites said to be typical of fragility fractures: vertebral fractures; fractures of the neck of the femur; Colles’ fracture of the wrist. Following fracture risk assessment a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan may be recommended.
|Symptom recognition key to diagnosing endometriosis
22 Mar 2018
Endometriosis affects around one in ten women of reproductive age in the UK. NICE guidance highlights the importance of symptoms in its diagnosis. A normal abdominal or pelvic examination, ultrasound, or MRI should not exclude the diagnosis. Endometriosis should be suspected in women and adolescents who present with one or more of: chronic pelvic pain, significant dysmenorrhoea, deep dyspareunia, period-related or cyclical GI or urinary symptoms, or infertility. If endometriosis is suspected or symptoms persist, patients should be referred for further assessment.
Special reports
|Pruritus may be a symptom of underlying systemic disease
22 Mar 2018
Itch is a common symptom of many dermatological conditions (e.g. eczema, urticaria and lichen planus) but can also be a manifestation of underlying systemic, neurological and psychological disorders, or an adverse reaction to medication. The assessment of patients with generalised itch but no rash requires a detailed history and examination to narrow the spectrum of potential causes. Examination should include inspection of the entire skin. Physical examination should include palpation for lymphadenopathy and organomegaly.
|Diagnosis and management of oesophageal cancer
22 Feb 2018
Oesophageal cancer commonly presents with dysphagia or odynophagia and can be associated with weight loss and vomiting. Referral for urgent endoscopy should always be considered in the presence of dysphagia regardless of previous history or medication. NICE recommends urgent referral (within 2 weeks) for direct access for upper GI endoscopy in patients with dysphagia and those aged 55 years or over with weight loss and any of the following: upper abdominal pain, reflux, or dyspepsia.
Clinical reviews of research - by GPs with interest
|Quitting smoking improves survival in patients with lung cancer
22 Mar 2018
Patients with lung cancer who stop smoking have lower all cause mortality rates compared with those who continue to smoke, a UK retrospective cohort study has found.
Comparing cardiovascular outcomes in different diabetes drug classes
22 Mar 2018
Canagliflozin was associated with a lower risk of heart failure admissions compared with other classes of diabetes drugs, in a population-based retrospective cohort study from the United States.
Women with endometriosis at raised risk of ovarian cancer
22 Mar 2018
The risk of ovarian cancer is increased in women with endometriosis, a large cohort study from Scotland has shown. The study also found that women with endometriosis are likely to undergo more surgical procedures compared with women who do not have the condition.
Postnatal depression may have adverse effects on offspring
22 Mar 2018
The children of women with severe persistent postnatal depression (PND) are at substantially increased risk of preschool behaviour problems, poor academic attainment and adolescent depression, a UK longitudinal cohort study has found.
A hundred and fifty years ago
|Remarkable cases of senile delirium
22 Mar 2018
I was sent for early in the morning, and was told she had not had any sleep during the night, but had been talking incessantly. When I saw her she was sitting up in the bed and was rambling incoherently, but everything she uttered was in rhyme, and the ingenuity she displayed in promptly finding the rhyme was very remarkable. During the whole of her illness, which lasted a week, I never once found her at fault in this respect, and she never was more at a loss to give utterance to her thoughts in rhyme than if she had expressed them in the ordinary mode of conversation. She gradually sank, apparently from exhaustion and having talked herself to death.
A hundred years ago
|Spinal concussion in warfare cured by suggestion
22 Mar 2018
Able seaman, J.C., aged 23 years, was a member of a gun’s crew during an action, in which our own and enemy light forces were concerned. A direct hit was obtained by the enemy on his gun, and all the crew but himself were killed. He was thrown to the deck unwounded, but on regaining his feet an explosion occurred, caused by a torpedo, and he was thrown into the sea. He began to swim, and succeeded in regaining the ship which was still above water, but she sank within a few minutes. He jumped overboard before she went down and began to swim again; a dull explosion took place almost immediately, whereupon he felt a severe pain in his back and lost consciousness. He stated that he thought he heard other men in similar plight around him cry out just before he became unconscious, but recollected nothing else until he found himself on shore.
Editorials
|Pre-eclampsia may raise risk of autism spectrum disorder
22 Mar 2018
Maternal pre-eclampsia is associated with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring, a meta-analysis has found. Compared with unexposed offspring, children who were exposed to pre-eclampsia in utero were 32% more likely to develop ASD.
|Smoking just one cigarette a day raises risk of CHD and stroke
22 Feb 2018
Smoking one cigarette per day carries a risk for cardiovascular disease of around half that of those who smoke 20 per day, a systematic review and meta-analysis has found.
HASLAM's view
|Are all GPs hypochondriacs?
22 Mar 2018
I’ve never quite understood why every doctor isn’t a hypochondriac. Or maybe the rest of you are, but you hide it rather better than I do. I have had more potentially fatal conditions in the course of 24 hours than anyone I have ever known.
CPD exercises associated with each issue
|CPD exercise - March 2018
22 Mar 2018
All articles in The Practitioner online include fillable PDF frameworks for personal reflection on learning and drafting of plans for CPD. These templates are also included here in our standard study pack containing this month’s CPD exercise plus all relevant articles:• Symptom recognition key to diagnosing endometriosis • Managing osteoporosis in postmenopausal women • Pruritus may be a symptom of underlying systemic disease
Photoguide selection - with PubMed links
|Allergic reactions
24 Sep 2015
• Fixed drug eruption • Fabric plaster reaction • Latex allergy • Morbilliform drug reaction • Allergic conjunctivitis • Anaphylaxis
|Urgent referrals
23 Mar 2011
• Eczema herpeticum • Pemphigus vulgaris • Perinephric abscess • Quinsy [with pre-set links to the evidence base]
