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BPJ 46 September 2012

Best Practice Journal

Acute-on-chronic kidney disease: prevention, diagnosis, management and referral in primary care

Acute kidney injury (in a community setting) occurs most commonly in people with existing chronic kidney disease. The first focus of primary care is to prevent acute-on-chronic kidney disease from occurring. However, preventative strategies cannot remove the risk completely. Acute kidney injury should be considered a medical emergency. If there is a clearly identifiable cause then this should be managed. If the cause of deterioration is not clear then this warrants early discussion with nephrology services. View Article

Bronchiolitis in infants

Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection in infants, and between 2006 and 2010 accounted for almost 15% of all childhood illness-related hospital admissions in New Zealand. Bronchiolitis is diagnosed clinically, and children can usually be managed at home, unless symptoms are severe, or risk factors for complications are present, e.g. very young age, co-morbidities, socioeconomic factors. View Article

Bronchiectasis: rates still increasing among Pacific peoples

Bronchiectasis is a lung disease characterised by irreversible bronchial dilation and chronic inflammation, resulting in chronic wet cough. It occurs in both children and adults, and although a relatively uncommon condition, bronchiectasis disproportionately affects Māori and Pacific peoples and people from lower socioeconomic communities. View Article

Otitis media: a common childhood illness

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A delicate balance: managing vertigo in general practice

Vertigo is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Although usually benign, vertigo can be a symptom of a significant underlying problem. Differentiating between the simple and the serious causes is a challenging process of elimination, based on the patient's description of their symptoms and the interpretation of signs found on examination. View Article

Assessing cardiovascular risk in people with high clinical risk factors

Cardiovascular risk assessment tools automatically adjust risk to greater than 20% for people with high risk factors, e.g. a prior cardiovascular event or overt diabetic nephropathy. This is leading to a blurring of the concept of primary and secondary prevention and in some cases, patients are not receiving the intensive interventions required as the perception is that their risk is always high and cannot be reduced. People with high clinical risk factors have the most to gain from cardiovascular risk lowering interventions. View Article

Funding changes to diabetes management products announced

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Medicines interactions: using the New Zealand Formulary

How to interpret Stockley's Interaction Alerts How to use the interactions checker Relative importance of interactions Additional interactions information from the BNF View Article

Correspondence: Alendronate; Pneumovax; Syphilis treatment

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