Clinical medicine (London, England)
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A 28-year-old man presented with a sudden onset of left leg pain and swelling. There was no history of preceding trauma. Initial blood tests were unremarkable, ultrasound imaging showed extensive subcutaneous oedema. ⋯ The patient received a course of steroids with complete resolution of his symptoms. Eosinophilic fasciitis is an uncommon condition but one that may be encountered by acute physicians. Early recognition and treatment is important to prevent complications.
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Diabetes is the most prevalent long-term condition, occurring in approximately 6.5% of the UK population. However, an average of 18% of all acute hospital beds are occupied by someone with diabetes. Having diabetes in hospital is associated with increased harm - however that may be defined. ⋯ These guidelines have been rapidly adopted across the UK. The National Diabetes Inpatient Audit has shown that over the last few years the care for people with diabetes has slowly improved, but there remain challenges in terms of providing appropriate staffing and education. Patient safety is paramount, and thus there remains a lot to do to ensure this vulnerable group of people are not at increased risk of harm.
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Isolated aortic infection is rare and is typically associated with an underlying aortic aneurysm or a prosthetic aortic graft. ⋯ This is an unusual case of acute upper limb ischaemia due to a mass infected with Citrobacter koseri in the ascending aorta without heart valve involvement.
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Infective endocarditis (IE) remains a rare condition but one with high associated morbidity and mortality. With an ageing population and increasing use of implantable cardiac devices and heart valves, the epidemiology of IE has changed. Early clinical suspicion and a rapid diagnosis are essential to enable the correct treatment pathways to be accessed and to reduce complication and mortality rates. In the current review, we detail the latest guidelines for the evaluation and management of patients with endocarditis and its prevention.
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The Physician Specialty Recruitment Office of the Royal College of Physicians has overseen recruitment into core medical training since 2009. This has allowed trends in recruitment numbers and the experience of applicants to be followed. Current recruitment into core training is not providing a large enough pool of trainees to sustain adequate filling of higher medical specialty training posts and therefore ultimately bridge the consultant vacancy rates in the UK.