We are taking a break!
Due to the challenges of rural health workforce and COVID that we all face, Island docs will be taking a break. Looking forward to reconnecting down the line....
Kotahitanga 9
We love a bit of deprescribing in the elderly and the primary care flavour of Nelsons contribution this issue. Anti-hypertensive medication reduction in some older patients is not associated with important change in BP control. In patients 80 years or older on at least two anti-hypertensive medications, stopping one...
empagliflozin
Great Goodfellow webinar tonight. Endocrinologist Dr Ryan Paul and RNZCGP Medical Director Dr Bryan Betty discussed the role of these medications. Key Messages Empagliflozin is a preferred 2nd line agent in cardiovascular disease, especially heart failure, and renal disease. It reduces mortality from cardiovascular events and renal disease progression...
Kotahitagna 7
Management of post-partum haemorrhage is encountered not infrequently in rural hospital medicine. Administration of TXA is part of local protocols, cheap, easy to use and widely available. Thanks for this appraisal of the evidence Kotahitagna!...
Syncope? Think outside the box.
Syncope is a transient and abrupt loss of consciousness with complete return to preexisting neurologic function. It can be classified as neurally mediated (mostly young adults), cardiac, orthostatic, or neurologic. This case of syncope comes from Faseeh Zaidi, a 5th year medical student studying at the University of Auckland 72-year-old female...
Pathways and Pipelines; the road to Rural Generalism
At this years NZRHN Rural Hospital Summit in Wellington, I was fortunate to hear Dr Kati Blattner speak. Amongst other achievements she is a clinician and academic instrumental in making vocational training for rural remote generalist doctors what it is today. Undertaking the Rural Hospital Training Programme in parallel to...
COVID–19 pandemic and rural generalism
“New Zealanders recently learnt that the first COVID-19 patient death occurred in Greymouth Hospital. What has been most revealing for local clinicians is the effect on our workforce. Simultaneously 21 staff members have been put into self-isolation.” Read the full article here Open Access in the NZMJ. Senior managers and...