Magnesium. What’s in it for ATSI?
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? Hypomagnesemia is a common finding in population screening in the Torres Strait. Epidemiological studies have...
Helpful Resources
Here we’ve complied a list of our favourite online resources. Do you have any you’d add to the list? Primary Health Northern Territory Remote Primary Health Care Manuals Queensland Primary Clinical Care Manual 9th Edition Queensland Chronic Conditions Manual 1st Edition RACGP Redbook Guidelines for preventive activities Chronic Disease Management...
Reflections & Resources from the RACGP QLD Clinical Update
I escaped the rock recently and spent the long weekend in Brisbane. In addition to the usual mainland activities (eating out, shopping, attending the local cinema and more shopping), I attended the RACGP Qld Clinical Update. I often come home from conferences feeling reinvigorated and inspired, but I never...
A 25-year-old female with an Unusual Ulcer
This case has been inspired by events in the Torres Straits and details have been changed to ensure patient anonymity. History A 25-year-old female presented to the an outer island primary healthcare centre with a non-painful leg ulcer. She didn’t remember having a bite, sting, scratch or injury to...
Man vs the Monsoon
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...
Preventative Medicine: Healthy Kai Kai & Deadly Exercise
As primary healthcare doctors we have the privilege of educating and promoting good health amongst our patients. We know that preventive medicine is essential in reducing the morbidity and mortality of chronic disease including the most commonly seen here in Torres Strait Islanders: cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic kidney disease....
The Pressure Is On: Will Australia Adopt New Hypertension Guidelines?
The Evidence: A randomised trial of intensive versus standard blood-pressure control The Summary: The SPRINT trial was a randomised, controlled trial comparing the safety and efficacy of intensive lowering of systolic blood pressure (SBP) to less than 120mmHg, compared with standard management to less than 140mmHg. The study included...
A 7-year-old boy with Omnipresent Oedema
This case has been inspired by events in the Torres Straits and details have been changed to ensure patient anonymity. History A 7-year-old boy presented to the Primary Healthcare Centre one afternoon after school with his grandmother. She was concerned that his eyes had become quite puffy over the...
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...