Pearls

For this week’s Pearl, we have teamed up with the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust to share key presentations that should make us consider further investigations for potential cancer in children and young people.

“Naga Munchetty told to suck it up over extreme menstrual problems”, BBC headline, 18 October 2023. These headlines brought adenomyosis into both the spotlight and our consulting rooms.

Following on from last week, let’s consider the relatively rare and serious condition acute prostatitis – typically the one we felt more ‘relaxed’ about prescribing quinolone antibiotics for!  

Hopefully, this Pearl won’t come as too much of a surprise, but, with packed inboxes and calendars, it can be easy to miss something important. The MHRA released a drug safety update in January 2024 that made a very clear statement about the place of systemic fluroquinolones.

Some people need soluble medications, for example because they struggle to swallow tablets. But are you aware how much sodium is in the average soluble pill?  

This is one of the more common primary care paediatric ‘red flag’ MSK presentations, and the most likely cause(s) of an acute limp varies with age. Working out who needs referral can be tricky.

Acute aortic dissection is one of those conditions we really hope to never see in primary care. And, because it is rare, it may have become a distant memory from our training days.  

In 2024, in the UK, Ramadan is due to start on 10th March and will end on 9th April. During Ramadan, many of our Muslim patients will want to fast. How can we best support those with long-term conditions during this time?

Next week is Eating Disorders Awareness Week, and we are sharing our whole article to offer us all the chance of a refresher. Early intervention is key, but we need the support of specialist pathways – and, we know, waiting lists can be LONG!

Increased menopause awareness means we may meet challenges in primary care. In this week’s Pearl, we review the available evidence and guidelines for measuring oestradiol.

Erectile dysfunction has been in the media, and we may be getting asked about it. Our Pearl this week gives you the details on what to ask and why!

The POP is now considered a mainstream alternative to combined hormonal contraception, and there have been a few changes over recent years. Our Pearl this week talks you through these!

In January 2024, the UKHSA declared a national health incident due to a significant measles outbreak in the West Midlands. In this week’s Pearl, we summarise the BRAND NEW UKHSA National Measles Guideline released this month.

Now, this could mean many things, but hopefully if this is a call to general practice, this will be a worry about a baby’s non-acute asymmetrical head.