Aust Fam Physician
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Long-term persistence on warfarin in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation is essential to minimise thromboembolic complications, especially ischaemic stroke. This study examines persistence in Australian patients with presumed atrial fibrillation newly prescribed warfarin. ⋯ There is significant discontinuation of warfarin therapy. When due to non-compliance, an opportunity for stroke prevention is being lost.
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To inform smoking interventions by clinicians, particularly doctors, in primary healthcare settings in remote Aboriginal communities, we describe the results of tobacco surveys in remote Northern Territory communities. ⋯ General practitioners, and their colleagues in similar primary healthcare settings, are well placed and are strongly encouraged to take every opportunity to make what could be a significant impact on reducing harms related to smoking and environmental smoke.
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This study investigated the prevalence of overweight and obese Indigenous kindergarten children in the Australian Capital Territory. ⋯ The low level of parental concern about obesity suggests that general practitioners should persist with screening for, and managing, overweight and obesity in kindergarten-aged children in similar jurisdictions on a proactive basis.
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An overweight woman, aged 58 years, presented for follow up of hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidaemia. She was noted to have hyperpigmented brown macules on the inner surface of the lower lip and buccal mucosa (Figure 1). She stated that she had first noticed these lesions when aged in her 40s. Her mother died at age 58 years from gastric cancer with extensive metastases, and her brother died at age 45 years from colon cancer with spread to the liver and lungs.