Falls prevention in the elderly
Statistically, up to a third of people above the age of 65 have at least one fall annually. Fall and falls-related injuries result in significant morbidity and mortality in patients. Read More...
Clinical Articles
Colchicine & chronic coronary disease
Colchicine is an ancient, yet sophisticated drug with multiple effects on cellular function involved with inflammation and healing. It has long held FDA approval for the life-long treatment of Familial Mediterranean Fever and treatment and prevention of gout. Read More...
Testosterone to prevent type 2 diabetes mellitus in at-risk men
Middle-aged and older men who are overweight, tend to have lower testosterone levels. This is associated with higher incidence of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Obesity and medical co-morbidities contribute to the decline in testosterone levels. A review and meta-analysis of observational studies, found that men with testosterone levels ≥15.6 nmol/L had a 42% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, compared to those with testosterone levels ≤15.5 nmol/L. Read More...
Palliative Dementia
Leading in-home health and aged care provider Silver Chain has launched a unique palliative care service to make the end stage of life for West Australians with dementia or a memory impairment easier. Read More...
Clinical utility of outpatient troponin
Cardiac troponin I and T are well known as biomarkers in the assessment of myocardial injury. An appreciation and understanding the pathophysiology of troponin and the timing of troponin testing is fundamental in the clinical utility of these biomarkers, as troponin and its kinetics are central to the universal definition of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Read More...
Infective exacerbations of COPD
What is an exacerbation? The GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) report, updated in 2019, defines an exacerbation as “an acute event characterized by a worsening of the patient's respiratory symptoms that is beyond normal day-to-day variations and leads to a change in medication.” Read More...
Urine drug screening in pain management
‘Opioids’ are a class of drugs that act at opioid receptors. The most notable are the µ-opioid receptor agonists, particularly morphine, extracted from opium poppy, and prized since antiquity for its remarkable efficacy as an analgesic. Read More...
Hip and knee osteoarthritis
Degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis, OA) can have no clear aetiology (‘primary’ or ‘intrinsic’) or be ‘secondary’ to another pathology (e.g. trauma, sepsis, congenital). Primary and secondary factors can both be involved with the former modifying susceptibility and the latter affecting the onset age and location of disease. Read More...