Category: Musculoskeletal

Snippets from ‘best practice’ November 2009 Nicotinic acid/laropiprant (Tredaptive) ▪ Fosamax Plus ▪ Direct-to-consumer genetic testing
TNF inhibitors - an update from ‘best practice’ November 2009 Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors are used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, severe psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and juvenile idiopathic arthritis, when conventional treatments have failed. TNF inhibitors are associated with some serious adverse effects and use should be closely monitored.
Practice tips from ‘best practice’ July 2009 Quik tips on: Smoking cessation / Bupropion Safe use of colchicine First void urine
Acute low back pain from ‘best practice’ June 2009 Acute low back pain is common and most patients will fully recover within three months. Serious causes are rare and can be excluded with careful history and examination. It is not necessary, and often not possible, to make an exact diagnosis and radiological investigations are usually not required in the absence of red flags.
Five-minute back examination with neurological assessment from ‘best practice’ June 2009 Instructions and illustrations for performing a quick examination on a patient presenting with acute low back pain and neurological symptoms.
Management of non-specific back pain and lumbar radicular pain from ‘best practice’ June 2009 Key aspects of management include reassurance, education and encouraging the patient to remain active – adequate analgesia is important to facilitate this. Patients should be reviewed regularly to ensure that pain is resolving.
Bones Joints and CVD quiz feedback from ‘best practice’ February 2009 Feedback on the responses to the "Bones Joints and CVD risk assessment" quiz.
Identifying patients at risk of Osteoporosis December 2008 Clinical audit pack focuses on the process within your practice for the prevention of fragility fractures by the implementation of systematic screening with FRAX. For a printer friendly black and white version click here.
Acute monoarthritis: differentiating between crystals, sepsis and trauma November 2008 Acute monoarthritis is characterised by pain and swelling of a single joint. There are a number of causes, with crystals, trauma and infection being the most common. This article looks at the laboratory tests required when investigating acute monoarthritis.
best tests November 2008 Osteoporotic fracture prevention: a new approach Acute monoarthritis: differentiating between crystals, sepsis and trauma Monitoring Response to Drug Treatment Fracture Risk Assessment Calculator