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Clinical Focus

Insights into what people think: being smart with advice on smoking

‘I don't care. I'm happy to be a smoker. It's my only outlet. I don't go out. I don't do anything else. I'm quite happy to be a smoker.’ Bluegrass/Social housing, Northern coastal town. Aged 35-44

Vaginal atrophy: what is it and how can it be treated?

The main symptoms of vaginal atrophy are vaginal dryness and irritation (Palacios et al, 2020; BMS, 2021). Table 2 shows the whole range of symptoms that can occur..

Cholesterol: how to measure and how to treat

Lipids are basically fats and are a heterogeneous group of substances that have a low solubility in water but are more readily soluble in a mixture of ethanol and chloroform (Durrington, 2007). Lipids...

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a global concern

NAFLD is an umbrella term used to describe a build-up of fat in the liver, known as steatosis. Fatty liver is the first stage of liver disease, whatever the underlying aetiology may be. In the early...

Asthma reviews: an essential part of good care

Primary care nurses, therefore, face a major challenge of addressing a backlog of work created by the pandemic and at the same time ensuring that they meet Quality and Outcome Framework (QOF)...

Understanding pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence in women

POP is the downwards descent of one or more of the bowel, bladder, womb or – in women who have had a hysterectomy – the vaginal cuff (Haylen et al, 2016). While not life threatening, POP can cause...

Rescue packs for COPD: problem or panacea?

AECOPD are defined as an acute worsening of the respiratory symptoms associated with COPD, including cough, breathlessness and sputum production and which require additional therapy (NICE, 2019a;...

Allergic rhinitis and its impact on airways disease

Exposure to allergens leads to early and late phase allergic reactions. The early phase reaction is characterised by sneezing and rhinorrhoea as a result of histamine, prostaglandin and leukotriene...

Assessment and examination of the cardiovascular system

A good history taking alone accounts for 75% of diagnoses before performing a physical examination and ordering additional tests are needed (Lown, 1999). With regards to the heart, this will provide...

Shingles in adults: what the practice nurse needs to know

The overall incidence in adults is estimated to be 1.85 to 3.9 cases per 1000 population (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2021), with an increasing occurrence in older adults...

Insulin for diabetes: 100 years of therapy

During the summer of 1921, an unlikely team consisting of Frederick Banting, a newly established physician specialising in orthopaedics and a professor of physiology, and Charles Best, one of his lab...

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