Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Jan 2023
Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on body weight in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
A series of studies have reported weight gain in association with COVID-19 lockdowns; typically, this research has had short-term follow up in populations that tended to gain weight. In this study the effect of prolonged lockdowns on weight were assessed in a population of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). ⋯ This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Internal medicine journal · Jan 2023
Clinical and economic burden of benign and malignant skin lesions in renal transplant recipients.
Studies evaluating the economic burden of dermatological care in the transplant setting are currently not available in Australia. ⋯ This Medicare-data based study provides further insight into the burgeoning clinical and economic burden of the care for benign and malignant skin lesions in the renal transplantation setting in Australia. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Internal medicine journal · Jan 2023
Correlation of spirometry indices to chest radiology in the diagnosis of chronic airway disease among regional and rural Indigenous Australians.
The majority of Indigenous Australians reside in non-urban locations, with reduced access to chest radiology such as Computed Tomography (CT). Spirometry and Chest X-Ray (CXR) may be used in the absence of CT, however the correlation of spirometry indices to CT defined chronic airway diseases (i.e.COPD and bronchiectasis) against CXR among Indigenous people is sparsely reported. ⋯ Indigenous Australians tend to demonstrate restrictive impairment in the absence of radiological evidence of airway disease. However, in the presence of airway disease, combinations of mixed and obstructive impairments were common. Obstructive impairment shows greater sensitivity for identifying COPD than that shown by CXR, however; CXR shows greater specificity. Hence, spirometry in conjunction with chest radiology should be utilised to aid in the assessment of airway diseases in this population. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Internal medicine journal · Jan 2023
Patient and carer experiences of lung cancer referral pathway in a regional health service, a qualitative study.
Lung cancer referral pathways aim to reduce delays and improve referral patterns of people with suspected lung cancer. As part of implementing lung cancer referral pathway at a regional Australian hospital, this study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of people with lung cancer and their carers. ⋯ Understanding the experiences of rural and regional patients and carers with the TLCRP is important to improve quality of care. Implementing changes to Townsville Lung Cancer Referral Pathway to improve patient and carer experiences needs to be an ongoing quality improvement exercise. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Internal medicine journal · Jan 2023
Diagnostic utility and outcomes of inpatient investigations for syncope in a regional setting.
Syncope is a common presentation to the emergency department with a wide spectrum of aetiology. The identification of the underlying cause can be diagnostically challenging, as are the choice of investigations and the decision for inpatient versus outpatient disposition. ⋯ In the context of the inpatient evaluation of syncope, this study supports the use of telemetry ECG and TTE. Neuroimaging demonstrates a low diagnostic yield for the cause of syncope, but it may have a role to play in excluding other pathologies. Our study does not support the routine use of CTPA, EEG or carotid ultrasound in the evaluation of syncope.