IC 052 Guide to Harris County Academy of General Practice Records

The Harris County Association of General Practice is a component branch of the American Academy of General Practice and the Texas Chapter of the American Academy of General Practice. Through the diligent efforts of Dr. Lyman C. Blair and others a charter was issued on July 23rd, 1948, thereby establishing the Harris County Chapter. See more at https://archives.library.tmc.edu/ic-052

General practice

The remarkable rate of development of medical knowledge and pharmacology affects all medical specialties and in particular general practice, since the latter embraces various aspects of different medical fields. Certain areas of medical practice, such as Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), hypercholesterolaemia and drugs affecting the Renin Angiotensin System (RAS) feature in a vast amount of literature which is constantly being updated. The increasing awareness of the previously unknown effects of HRT on one side, and the widespread prevalence of cardiovascular disease in the case of hypercholesterolaemia and drugs affecting the RAS have contributed to this large amount of studies. On the other hand, certain areas of practice such as atopic eczema and anti-thrombotic therapy have been rather quiescent as far as developments are concerned, but revolutionary treatments have recently been introduced in both areas, namely the calcineurin antagonists and ximelagratan. The latter is a very promising drug which can replace warfarin, while the former are the first steroid-sparing medications which effectively control atopic eczema. Keeping abreast with recent developments is a further hurdle which the modern general practioner has to contend with in order to offer valid treatment options, and to be able to answer questions by increasingly well-informed patients.peer-reviewe

Rhinitis in general practice

A 3 year old boy presented with a 3 week history of nasal obstruction, clear rhinorrhea, difficulty with feeding and a productive cough. Child was afebrile, had occasional watery itchy eyes and mother claimed that at night he tended to wake up a couple of times coughing and crying. He suffered from eczema as a baby. On examination he had clear rhinorrhoea, nasal mucosa appeared red, ear drums looked slightly pink, tonsils swollen yet normal colour, cervical lymph nodes absent.peer-reviewe

Emergency medicine and general practice

Emergency Medicine and Immediate Medical Care are relatively new specialties. In Malta, there is quite a considerable area of overlap between these specialties and general practice. Indeed, the family physician is confronted with some sort of medical emergency quite regularly. The brief of this article is to go through recent developments in Emergency Medicine as applied to General Practice. The areas considered are Basic Life Support, Head Injury, Asthma, Anaphylaxis, Community Acquired Pneumonia, Burns and Controlled Hypotensive Resuscitation. Whenever possible, distinct practical guidelines will be suggested as an aid in the clinical management of emergency situations which the family physician may encounter. This overview of new developments is by no means comprehensive but serves to highlight the increasing importance given to the role of the first-line medical practitioner in the emergency situation.peer-reviewe

Treating Insomnia in General Practice

LS is a 13-year-old boy who presented with a one month history of difficulty in falling asleep. He was accompanied by his mother, who asked that he be prescribed some form of sleeping pill to solve the problem, because she was worried that it was affecting his concentration at school. DT is a 23-year-old gentleman whose sleep duration had decreased progressively over the previous three months, from 5 to 6 hours per night to a maximum of 2 hours per night. This lower extreme had now lasted nearly 3 weeks, and he felt that it was completely "wrecking" his daytime routine, with what he described as "very low levels of consciousness and alertness" throughout the day.peer-reviewe

Shoulder pain in general practice

Case scenario A 65 year old gentleman presented with a 1 week history of pain in the left shoulder. Pain started after spending 2 days painting his house. He was taking paracetamol regularly yet it only gave him minor relief. On examination he had a painful arch and was tender under the acromium.peer-reviewe

Battered women presenting in general practice

The problems of battered women have recently been highlighted. They consult doctors, who can be an important source of help. We examined their initial presenting complaint to general practitioners. Questionnaires were sent to 27 London refuges for battered women and to 100 randomly selected general practitioners. Seventy-two women and 49 doctors replied. The results indicated that these women are more likely to present with psychological symptoms. Many cases are not detected because the battering is concealed. The attitude of doctors may prevent these patients discussing their real problems. Further studies are needed

Palliative care: promoting general practice participation

Specialist palliative care services and services involved in the pre-palliative phase of a patient’s disease must accept GPs as an integral part of the care tea