Symposium articles

Stroke is the most debilitating complication of atrial fibrillation (AF). AF-related strokes account for 20-25% of all strokes and are generally more severe and disabling and more likely to recur. Oral anticoagulation (OAC) remains the cornerstone of AF management with a clear prognostic benefit. It reduces stroke risk by two-thirds and mortality by a quarter. The decision to anticoagulate is taken irrespective of the pattern and duration of AF (paroxysmal, persistent or permanent). A large evidence base supports the use of OAC in men with a CHA₂DS₂-VASc score of 2 or more and women with a score of 3 or more. Hence, in the absence of absolute contraindications, OAC is strongly recommended.

Diagnosis of COPD is based on the presence of airflow obstruction after the administration of a bronchodilator i.e. post-bronchodilator spirometry. However, the National COPD Audit report for 2017-18 found that 59.5% of people hospitalised with a COPD exacerbation in England and Wales had no spirometry result available and in 12% of those who had undergone spirometry the test showed no airflow obstruction. Patients with COPD should be reviewed annually. It is advisable to repeat spirometry if there is a significant change in symptoms. It is important to determine objective measures of breathlessness (MRC dyspnoea score), quality of life (CAT questionnaire) and exacerbations (annual exacerbation and hospitalisation rate) as part of this review.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory condition which runs a relapsing and remitting course. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is more common than Crohn’s disease (CD). UC almost always affects the rectum and extends proximally and continuously to the colon to a variable extent. CD most commonly affects the terminal ileum or colon but can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus. The vast majority (90%) of people with UC report bloody stools compared with less than 50% of those with CD. CD is characterised by a triad of abdominal pain, diarrhoea and weight loss.

Allergic rhinitis can affect a child’s physical health, reduce their quality of life, sleep and concentration, and impact on school performance. Children with allergic rhinitis are at increased risk of developing asthma. Around 85% of those with asthma have allergic rhinitis, which can complicate diagnosis and management and also increase the risk of hospitalisation for asthma exacerbations. However, appropriate management of allergic rhinitis can improve asthma control. The diagnosis of allergic rhinitis can usually be made on the basis of the patient’s history and examination alone. 

The most common presentation of gout is a flare, characterised by acute onset of one, or occasionally more, hot, red, swollen joints which are very painful and tender. Less common is insidious onset of chronic usage related joint pain, especially in joints already affected by osteoarthritis. Subcutaneous tophi can also be the presentation, particulary in older people. In typical cases, clinical assessment alone is sufficient for diagnosis. Gout is also associated with comorbidities such as nephrolithiasis, chronic kidney disease, metabolic syndrome and heart disease, and increased mortality.

Nocturia can be a symptom of an underlying disease process or behavioural. The history should not just focus on lower urinary tract symptoms but should also include past medical history, current medications and fluid intake. It is important to ask specifically about the onset and progression of symptoms, and to what extent the patient is troubled by the nocturia. An abdominal examination should always be performed and should exclude urinary retention. A digital rectal examination of the prostate should also be offered.

Heavy menstrual bleeding has been defined as ‘excessive menstrual blood loss which interferes with a woman’s physical, social, emotional, and/or material quality of life’. Heavy menstrual bleeding affects 25% of women of reproductive age and is estimated to be the fourth most common reason for gynaecological referrals. Women should be asked about pelvic pain which might suggest endometriosis and pressure symptoms which might suggest significant fibroids. Examination is appropriate if there is intermenstrual or postcoital bleeding and, if the woman is actively bleeding, may identify the source of the bleeding.

Kidney stones are common with as many as 1 in 10 people developing a symptomatic stone. Up to 50% of stone formers will have at least one further symptomatic stone in their lifetime. Ureteric colic is unaffected by posture with patients often writhing in seemingly futile attempts to relieve pain. Immediate management comprises effective analgesia while urinalysis is the first step in confirming the diagnosis. One of the challenges facing the GP is to differentiate patients who warrant immediate hospital referral from those who can be seen less acutely.

Depression in older adults is common. Depressive symptoms may be part of a recurrent depressive disorder or experienced for the first time in later life as a result of changes in risk and resilience factors. There is an association between cerebrovascular pathology, vascular risk factors and depression. Physical illnesses, particularly those associated with frailty, are also important risk factors for depression. Depression has a distinct presentation in late life and low mood may not be the predominant presenting symptom. Older patients may present with physical symptoms, apathy, cognitive symptoms, agitation, retardation, fatigue or weight loss.

Primary Sjögren’s syndrome is a chronic systemic immune-mediated condition of unknown aetiology characterised by focal lymphocytic infiltration of exocrine (mainly salivary and lacrimal) glands. It affects 0.1-4.6% of the European population and 90% of cases are female. Although it usually presents in the fifth or sixth decade, it can be seen in younger people who tend to present with systemic disease and are less likely to have classical sicca symptoms. Patients should be referred to a rheumatologist to confirm diagnosis, and this may involve scintigraphy/sialography and/or labial gland biopsy.

Overall survival has improved dramatically for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) since the millennium such that median life expectancy now extends into the fifth decade. However, with increasing longevity comes a range of comorbidities, some as complications of the disease itself but others as a consequence of long-term treatments required to manage CF. Chronic infection and inflammation eventually cause irreversible bronchiectasis and decline in pulmonary function, and 90% of CF deaths are caused by progressive respiratory failure.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a multisystem genetic disorder affecting around 1 in 2,500 live births in the UK. Although all newborns undergo screening for CF, around 15% of infants will present shortly after birth with meconium ileus and some will already have faltering growth when the screening results are available at 3-4 weeks of age. Infants who present with meconium ileus should be treated with a high index of suspicion for CF until proven otherwise. Mucociliary dysfunction leads to accumulation of mucus in the airways and secondary infection. Respiratory symptoms may be non-specific initially and include cough and wheeziness, frequent respiratory infections and, in older children, sinusitis.

Syncope is a transient loss of consciousness (T-LOC) caused by cerebral hypoperfusion, characterised by a rapid onset, short duration and spontaneous complete recovery. It needs to be differentiated from other conditions that can cause T-LOC such as seizures, trauma, hypoglycaemia, and psychogenic causes. Three principal types of syncope can be identified: reflex or neurally mediated, orthostatic hypotensive and cardiac. The common denominator of all these conditions is low systemic BP causing global cerebral hypoperfusion.

Nocturnal epilepsies account for 10-15% of all epilepsies, and 80% of nocturnal epilepsies in adults are focal. They present a diagnostic challenge as they can be difficult to differentiate from normal movements and behaviour during sleep and also from several non-epileptic, sleep-related, motor and behavioural disorders. More than 90% of the seizures in sleep-related hypermotor epilepsy (SHE) occur during sleep. Seizures in SHE are simple partial seizures which easily wake the patient so that they will usually be able to recall the seizures, often describing auras of somatic sensations or feeling unable to breathe. SHE seizures have a rapid onset and offset, a short duration (usually < 2 min), and a stereotyped motor pattern for that individual.

Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK and is the second most common cause of cancer deaths. Most cancers are thought to develop from colonic adenomas and incidence is strongly related to age. The majority of cancers are left sided and typically present with a change in bowel habit, blood in the stool or colicky abdominal pain. Rectal cancers can present with fresh red bleeding and large tumours can cause tenesmus (the intense and frequent desire to defecate, with little or no stool passed). Right-sided cancers most often present with anaemia. In both right- and left-sided cancers occasionally the patient may notice an abdominal mass or inexplicable weight loss.