The Flying Death Adder
Note: The purpose of this site if to provide free open access medical education (FOAMed) in the context of rural and remote health. Though all stories have been inspired by real cases, all identifying details such as names, ages, locations and background descriptions have been thoroughly changed to ensure...
Iron Deficiency Anaemia
As we improve our preventative health screening practices in Remote Indigenous Health we inevitably encounter incidental abnormalities in routine pathology. Given our limited resources and developing recall systems, what do we do about them? The ABS report that remote indigenous populations are 2-3 times as likely to suffer from...
Two 20-year-old Males with Impending Sense of Doom
This case has been inspired by events in the Torres Straits and details have been changed to ensure patient anonymity. History It was a quiet afternoon in the Emergency Department when a call came from the Ambulance Office informing us of 000 call from a boat out on...
Medicare Cheat Sheet for ED
Glenn’s Medicare Cheat Sheet for ED Here is the updated version of the medicare cheat sheet (March 2018), mainly for working out of the Hospital Emergency department. It contains most of the numbers for the commonly billed items. We have these laminated and attached to the triage clip boards...
24 Hours as the On-call Doctor in the Torres Strait
Note: The purpose of this site if to provide free open access medical education (FOAMed) in the context of rural and remote health. Though all stories have been inspired by real cases, all identifying details such as names, ages, locations and background descriptions have been thoroughly changed to ensure...
Magnesium for leg cramps…just as good as placebo?
Clinical question: does magnesium work for leg cramps? Findings 1: Cochrane review, 2012 Both magnesium & placebo reduce the frequency of leg cramps with a non-significant difference between the two groups. The Cochrane review analysed four RCTs (n=322), two of which were deemed to have a high risk of...
A 62-year-old Male with Dreadful Dysuria
This case has been inspired by events in the Torres Straits and details have been changed to ensure patient anonymity. History A 62-year-old Male trudged into the Emergency Department on a Friday night. There was a downpour of rain outside as the wind was whistling through the windows and...
Incidental Eosinophilia
As we improve our preventative health screening practices in Remote Indigenous Health we inevitably encounter incidental abnormalities in routine pathology. Given our limited resources and developing recall systems, what do we do about them? Over the next few weeks we will address a handful of common queries and a...
Urinary incontinence
Island Docs are generalists. We strive to maintain a breadth of knowledge rather than focus on a particular specialty field. In our efforts to provide high quality patient care, we work hard to keep up to date with the latest evidence and guidelines. We are lucky to receive regular...
Week 6.1 – Sepsis
What is it? Sepsis is defined as life-threatening organ dysfunction secondary to an infection. Early recognition and early management of sepsis is critical. Sepsis kills more than breast or prostate cancer here in Australia. Have a look at this great summary video from JAMA on defining sepsis and septic...