Internal medicine journal
-
Internal medicine journal · Apr 2022
Case ReportsCan insomnia be fatal? An Australian case of fatal familial insomnia.
Fatal familial insomnia (FFI) is a rare prion disease with autosomal dominant inheritance. Currently, there is only one published case study of FFI in Australia. ⋯ Clinically, it manifests with disordered sleep-wake cycle, dysautonomia, motor disturbances and neuropsychiatric disorders. We describe a case of FFI detailing the investigative process, including the importance of sleep assessment and polysomnography in obtaining a diagnosis.
-
Blackwater fever is a haemolytic syndrome associated with malaria that coincided with the use of quinine chemoprophylaxis. Once quinine was no longer chronically used to prevent malaria, blackwater fever largely disappeared and its aetiology remains poorly understood. Blackwater fever is representative of classical tropical medicine and its history was reflected in Australia's colonial development of Papua New Guinea particularly as reported in the Australian medical literature.
-
Internal medicine journal · Apr 2022
Impact of COVID-19 on the worsening crisis of chronic kidney disease: the imperative to fund early detection is now.
The number of Australians affected by kidney disease will increase as the impacts of COVID-19 infection on kidney health are realised. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) imposes significant health and economic burdens from dialysis costs, loss of employment, premature death and increased admissions to hospital. Screening for kidney disease must be integrated into post-COVID-19 care; however, currently there is no reimbursement for kidney health checks in primary care. Early detection can reduce the progression of CKD by as much as 50% and thus the imperative to fund the Kidney Health Check is now.