Survey on the use of ototopical medications by New Zealand
otolaryngologist/head and neck surgeons
Murali Mahadevan, David A M Wabnitz, David L McIntosh, Colin
R S Brown
Antibiotic ear drops are prescribed for several conditions
affecting the ear. Some of these antibiotic ear drops can cause
permanent deafness or debilitating dizziness. It is important
that doctors assess the ears properly when prescribing ear drops
and give advice about when to stop ear drops, especially if
using ear drops that can cause the above severe symptoms. The
safer antibiotic ear drops are more expensive and some doctors
believe that they should be subsidised so that they can be
available to more patients.
The influence of steroid injections on the incidence of
infection following total knee arthroplasty
Geoffrey Horne, Peter Devane, Andrew Davidson, Kathryn
Adams, Gordon Purdie
Research shows a relationship between preoperative steroid
injections into painful hip joints and postoperative wound
healing in hip replacement surgery. This study investigates a
similar relationship in total knee replacement surgery. This
small study was undertaken to assess long-term outcomes of total
knee joint surgery, and compares those who had prior injections
into their knee joints, to those who did not. The outcome for
patients who had injections into their knee joints prior to knee
replacement surgery, is no less successful than for those who
did not have injections. The findings indicate that if
injections into the knee do have an effect, then it is much
smaller than that seen in hip replacement surgery.
Clinical teaching capacity in New Zealand general practice
Susan Pullon, Ruth Lum
Effective training of all doctors needs to include good
experience in primary care and general practice. The bulk of
health care occurs in the community. New Zealand needs more
fully trained (vocationally registered) general practitioners to
work in primary care alongside other health professionals.
Medical students and GPs-in-training alike need to work
alongside experienced colleagues in general practices, but such
placements are now limited by lack of physical space in
practices, lack of dedicated time for teaching, and lack of
co-ordination between different tertiary education providers.
Primary care facilities and GPs are ready and willing to be
involved in teaching, but structural and remuneration
arrangements need to improve to increase their teaching
capacity.
A single question reliably identifies physically inactive
women in primary care
Sally B Rose, C Raina Elley, Beverley A Lawton, Anthony C
Dowell
This paper set out to determine whether one question accurately
identifies women who do not do the recommended amount of
exercise. Participants were 51-74 year old women being screened
for inclusion in the Women's Lifestyle Study, and were asked As
a rule, do you do at least half an hour of moderate or vigorous
exercise (such as walking or a sport) on five or more days of
the week? Responses to this question were compared with
responses to a longer exercise questionnaire and the level of
agreement determined. The single question correctly identified
77% of those who were physically inactive according to the
longer questionnaire. This question therefore provides a simple
and practical way for GPs to identify women who would benefit
from increasing their physical activity.
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