Aust Fam Physician
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Case study A man, 26 years of age, presented to a hospital emergency department complaining of a sudden onset of a sore throat 6 hours previously while consuming a carbonated drink at work. The pain commenced about lunchtime, after he had been mixing concrete powder, and since then had been intermittent and was becoming more severe.
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Despite evidence of the efficacy of cholesterol lowering medication, it is known there is suboptimal patient adherence to this medication. The aim of this study is to investigate patient knowledge, attitudes and experiences of their cholesterol lowering medication, and explore patient views regarding programs to support self management. ⋯ This study provides preliminary evidence that patients on long term statin therapy may have gaps in their knowledge about their condition and treatment options and a desire to be better informed.
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Requests for general practitioners to conduct pre-employment medicals are increasing, encouraged by the increasing costs of workplace injuries, insurance claims, premiums and common law claims. In many industries, especially mining and natural gas, legislation demands that a medical be undertaken before the employee is allowed onsite. ⋯ Pre-employment medicals are often unpopular as practices struggle to cope with excessive workloads. However, with good time management, prior assessment of the supplied paperwork and the addition of some further questions on health and lifestyle, medicals can provide a good assessment of a patient and assist in the prevention or management of potential or chronic health problems. The medical also provides an excellent opportunity to promote health and to assist in disease and injury prevention by providing feedback for a healthier lifestyle and injury prevention. This is an especially great opportunity for male patients, who rarely visit their GP for routine health checks.
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Difficult intravenous access can be a very stressful experience, especially in a remote emergency department. Adult intraosseous access can provide rapid access for fluids and drugs in a critically ill patient in whom intravenous access is difficult or impossible. This article presents two case reports of patients in whom rapid intraosseous access was lifesaving.