The 10-minute appointment

The 10-minute appointment.

10-minute consultation: Dyspepsia.

x Is this really dyspepsia? Ask about epigastric pain; heartburn and acid regurgitation; attitudes towards meals; lying flat; and response to antacids. Consider biliary or cardiac pain. Predominant bloating may indicate aerophagia or the irritable bowel syndrome. x Be alert to “alarm symptoms” (weight loss, anaemia, vomiting, jaundice, and epigastric mass); patients aged 55 and over with recent...

10-minute consultation: Prostatic symptoms.

x Discuss the cause of his symptoms. Show him a picture of where the prostate is and how it causes problems. He may be worried about cancer, so explain that usually the prostate simply enlarges but that in a small minority the symptoms are due to cancer. About 1 in 14 men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their life. x Discuss plans for initial investigation, including the prostate ...

Calling time on the 10-minute consultation.

10-minute consultation: chronic low back pain.

Symptoms—Discuss the likely causes. Show him a diagram or model of the lumbar spine indicating the vertebrae, discs, and nerve roots. Explain that his leg pain is due to irritation of the nerve roots and that effective treatment should alleviate both his back pain and his leg pain. History—When taking a history, be alert to: x Any recent trauma, which may raise the possibility of a fracture x “...