-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Galloway <[log in to unmask]>
To: GP-UK <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, April 23, 1998 12:52 AM
Subject: Re: Dream on........
>All Oxfordshire GP's were bought ambulatory pressure monitors, not sure
>where the money came from, possibly the ongoing OXAM study.
>
>Now I have access to one it gets fairly regular use. *Very* useful for the
>fit young 35 year old who attends with BP's of 190/110, all of who so far
>have been white coaters. Practice hypertension protocol includes ABPM for
>the "grey areas". Based on the current thinking with the fairly substantial
>weight of evidence so far. All set up and running done by PN's. At previous
>practice had ECG and rarely used it apart from medicals.
Had a thread on Ambulatory BP monitoring etc going some time ago, and its
relevance in the real world. We sort of compromise by loaning out a digital
semi-automatic Omron-type (but see my other posting re problems with these)
for those "grey areas", and getting the punters to measure their own BP
twice a day for a week or so. Seems to give reasonable "average" readings,
but I don't know of any evidence base for this approach apart from common
sense.
>
>Other top kit which seems to have been a freebie from somewhere and which I
>have bagsied, is one of those click in the ear thermometers. *very* handy
>even on a wiggling child.
>Dr Paul Galloway
Why, apart from rare specialist circumstances, would you ever want to
measure a child's temperature with such accuracy? A hand pressed lightly
across the child's forehead will invariably tell you whether they have a
temperature or not, which is all you need to know in most cases, and you can
get enough of a quantitative reading with a simple plastic strip
thermometer.
The only reason for wanting to stick something in a kid's ear has probably
more to do with the thread on "Brats in the Surgery" !
C-P
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" If you want a doctor, I'll examine every inch of you........."
Dr Adrian Canale-Parola
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