Australian Family Physician December - Neurology
Vol 40, (12) 937–1032
The theme for the December issue of AFP is neurology.
This month's articles include motor neurone disease, traumatic brain
injury, frontotemporal dementia, multiple sclerosis, lactational
mastitis, ACEI associated angioedema and teaching medical
students.
Multiple sclerosis
Janice Charles, Lisa Valenti, Helena Britt
From April 2001 to March 2011 in BEACH, multiple sclerosis
(MS) was managed at a rate of 0.9 per 1000 general practice
encounters, suggesting an average 98 000 multiple sclerosis
general practice patient encounters per year nationally.
Multiple sclerosis - diagnosis, management and prognosis
Benjamin K-T Tsang, Richard Macdonell
Multiple sclerosis is the most common chronic disabling
disease of the central nervous system in young adults.
Traumatic brain injury - Long term care of patients in general practice
Lyndal Trevena, Ian Cameron
Traumatic brain injury is a significant cause of disability
worldwide. Patients with a traumatic brain injury may have
a range of physical, mental, cognitive and social problems
involving care from a general practitioner.
Motor neurone disease - caring for the patient in general practice
Margaret Zoing, Matthew Kiernan
Motor neurone disease - caring for the patient in general practice
Frontotemporal dementia - Features, diagnosis and management
Daniel KY Chan, Sharon Reutens, Dennis KW Liu, Richard O Chan
Frontotemporal dementia is the third or fourth most
common form of dementia in the 45–65 years age group.
It causes significant morbidity as well as a six to eightfold
increase in mortality risk.
When we can’t fix what is broken
Kath O’Connor
‘Our bodies are a temporary arrangement. But
at its core the business of medicine struggles
against this basic fact. Healing begins when
we can’t fix what is broken’.
AFP Reviewers 2011
All articles submitted to Australian Family Physician are sent for double blind peer review. Reviewers provide a critical commentary on the scientific quality of the material and its interest and relevance to general practice. This task is undertaken without reward by a large number of people in order to enhance the quality and scientific credibility of published articles. Without the participation of these reviewers, AFP would not be able to provide quality material to its readership. The editors of AFP sincerely thank the following reviewers for their generous contribution.
Lactational mastitis and breast abscess - Diagnosis and management in general practice
Leila Cusack, Meagan Brennan
Lactational mastitis is common, affecting one in 5 breastfeeding women. As well as
causing significant discomfort, it is a frequent reason for women to stop breastfeeding.
Monomorphous papulopustular rash - A case study
Ligia Peralta, Paulo Morais
Case study -
An otherwise healthy male patient, aged
16 years, presented with a mildly pruritic
monomorphous papulopustular rash located
on the neck, chest, back, shoulders and
upper arms
ACEI associated angioedema - A case study and review
Nick Andrew, Genevieve Gabb, Matthew Del Fante
Angioedema is an infrequent but potentially serious adverse effect of angiotensin
converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs).
Melanoma - Improving diagnosis in general practice
Jon Emery
Australia is the world capital of melanoma
and despite our best efforts to ‘slip-slop-slap’
the incidence of melanoma continues
to rise. In 2007, 10 342 Australians were
diagnosed with melanoma and 1279
people died from the disease.
Teaching medical students - Ethical challenges
Nancy Sturman
Although recent research has explored
Australian general practitioner teacher
workforce capacity and remuneration,1
less is known about other challenges for
Australian urban GP teachers, particularly
those of an ethical nature.
Australia’s systems of primary healthcare - The need for improved coordination and implications for Medicare Locals
Marlene Wiese, Gwyneth Jolley, Fran Baum, Toby Freeman, Michael Kidd
In Australia, primary healthcare is
largely delivered through two parallel
systems: Medicare supported primary
care delivered by fee-for-service general
practitioners, and state funded and
managed community health services.
An online course in clinical education - Experiences of Australian clinicians
Susan Wearne, Jennene Greenhill, Carolyn Berryman, Linda Sweet, Lori Tietz
Australian health ministers have pledged
that the increased numbers of health
professional students at Australian
universities will receive quality, clinical
training places.
Moving with the times - Familiarity versus formality in Australian general practice
Romayne Moore, Michael Yelland, Shu-Kay Ng
The way in which a patient is greeted by
their general practitioner is a significant
factor in setting the tone of a consultation,
and in the establishment of an effective
and supportive dialogue.
Family law matters - A guide for GPs
Sarah Minnery
General practitioners are regularly called upon to assist their patients in
family law disputes. They are often served with a subpoena to produce
their patient’s file, or that of their children, and can be called upon
to provide short reports regarding various health conditions of their
patients. Doctors can also sometimes become witnesses in family law
litigation and the time needed to participate is rarely compensated.
A partnership for health - Working with schools to promote healthy lifestyle
Smita Shah, Corinne Patching van der Sluijs, Marivic Lagleva, Andrew Pesle, Kean-Seng Lim, Hani Bittar, Michael Dibley
Childhood obesity is increasing in prevalence. Effective interventions are
needed, including those promoting healthy lifestyle habits in children
and adolescents.
Academic posts at The University of Melbourne - 28 years of history
Jo-Anne Manski-Nankervis, Edward Vergara, Deepa Daniel, Doris Young
General practice registrars have the
opportunity to undertake an academic
post during their training. This 12
month part time post provides an
opportunity to train in various facets
of the emerging area of primary care
research.
HoMER - An opportunity or threat to general practice research?
Siaw-Teng Liaw
The National Health and Medical
Research Council (NHMRC)
Harmonisation of Multicentre Ethical
Review (HoMER) project aims to
implement a ‘single ethical review’,
where the outcome of an ethical and
scientific review by a single recognised
Human Research Ethics Committee
(HREC) will enable multiple institutions
to decide whether or not to participate
in a given study.
Clinical Challenge
Questions for this month’s clinical challenge are based on articles in this issue. The style and
scope of questions is in keeping with the multiple choice questions of the RACGP Fellowship
exam. The quiz is endorsed by the RACGP Quality Improvement and Continuing Professional
Development Program and has been allocated 4 Category 2 points per issue. Answers to this
clinical challenge are available immediately following successful completion online at www.
gplearning.com.au. Clinical challenge quizzes may be completed at any time throughout the
2011–2013 triennium, therefore the previous months answers are not published.