Essential Primary Care aims to provide undergraduate students with a comprehensive overview of the clinical problems encountered in primary care. It covers the structure of primary care in the UK, disease prevention and the management of common and important clinical presentations from infancy to old age. Case studies are used in every chapter to illustrate key learning points. The book provides practical advice on how to consult with patients, make sense of their symptoms, explain things to them, and manage their problems.
Table of Contents
contributors viii
Foreword ix
Preface x
How to use your textbook xi
About the companion website xii
Part 1: The key features of primary care
1 The structure and organisation of primary care 3
Andrew Blythe
2 The GP consultation 10
Jessica Buchan
3 Making a diagnosis 22
Barbara Laue
4 Prescribing 30
Andrew Blythe
5 The interface with secondary care 42
Sarah Jahfar
6 The everyday ethics of primary care 50
Trevor Thompson
Part 2: Healthy living and disease prevention
7 Behaviour change 59
Jessica Buchan
8 Alcohol and drug misuse 68
Andrew Blythe
9 Preventing cardiovascular disease 77
Andrew Blythe
10 Caring for people with learning disabilities 85
Andrew Blythe
Part 3: Common presenting problems
11 Tiredness 95
Andrew Blythe
Childhood
12 Child health in primary care 111
Jessica Buchan
13 Managing the feverish and ill child in primary care 120
Alastair Hay, Lucy Jenkins and Jessica Buchan
14 Managing common conditions in infancy 134
Jessica Buchan
15 Managing chronic conditions in childhood 139
Lucy Jenkins, Alastair Hay, Matthew Ridd and Jessica Buchan
16 Teenage and youngÂ]adult health 147
Jessica Buchan and David Kessler
Early adulthood
17 Respiratory tract infections 157
Lucy Jenkins
18 Low back pain 163
Jessica Buchan
19 Heartburn and dyspepsia 170
Jessica Buchan
20 Diarrhoea and rectal bleeding 177
Andrew Blythe
21 Common skin conditions 184
Matthew Ridd
22 Headache 194
Andrew Blythe
23 Fits, faints and funny turns 201
Andrew Blythe
24 Depression, anxiety and selfÂ]harm 210
David Kessler
25 Sexual health and dysuria 219
Lucy Jenkins
26 Menstrual problems, contraception and termination of pregnancy 231
Jessica Buchan
27 Pregnancy 241
Jessica Buchan
28 Domestic violence and abuse 254
Gene Feder
Middle and old age
29 Cardiovascular disease 265
Andrew Blythe
30 Breathlessness 275
Jessica Buchan
31 Joint pains and stiffness 287
Andrew Blythe
32 Urinary problems and prostate disease 294
Simon Thornton
33 The menopause 302
Jessica Buchan
34 Multimorbidity and polypharmacy 307
Polly Duncan and Andrew Blythe
35 Falls and fragility fractures 314
Andrew Blythe
36 Visual and hearing loss 322
Andrew Blythe
37 Dementia 331
Andrew Blythe
Part 4: Cancer
38 Spotting patients with cancer 343
Andrew Blythe
39 Looking after patients with cancer 352
Andrew Blythe
Part 5: Palliative care and death
40 Palliative care and death 361
Andrew Blythe
Index 371
