Old Age in General Practice

General practice in an age of measurement.

A Preliminary Investigation of Cast Anxiety in General Orthopaedic Practice

Background: Anxiety following casting is an unrecognised complication that results in frequent visits to fracture clinic in the UK. There is a paucity of research regarding this complication. Failure to recognise Cast Anxiety (CA) leads to increased visits, frequent cast changes and possible failure of treatment despite no objective problems with the cast. Prior research has suggested a possibl...

Systems-based practice and practice-based learning for the general psychiatrist: old competencies, new emphasis.

Since the development and propagation of the six-competency framework, there has been a lack of understanding among both residents and teaching faculty of what systems-based practice (SBP) and practice-based learning and improvement (PBLI) entail [1–3]. In our anecdotal experience, these have been viewed as “soft” competencies, acquired incidentally as part of rigorous clinical training. This r...

Obesity in old age.

Many older people in developed countries are overweight or obese. The prevalence is increasing as more people reach old age already overweight. Obesity in old age is associated with increased morbidity and a reduction in quality of life. The relative increase in mortality is less in older than young adults and the body weight associated with maximal survival increases with advancing age. Althou...

Spirometry in old age.

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are highly prevalent in older people [1–4]. This well established fact has not, however, overcome the problem of underdiagnosis or misdiagnosis of both conditions in old age, with the inevitable effect on morbidity , and possibly mortality [1, 5]. Properly performed spirometric measurements of Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second (FEV1) an...