Shoulder pain is a common cause of presentation to primary care and can be due to a number of causes. These include: Pain arising from the shoulder: rotator cuff disorders, frozen shoulder, instability disorders, acromioclavicular disorders, glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthritis, Paget’s disease, avascular necrosis of the humeral head, septic Read more
Up to 60% of the population will experience back pain at some time. Only about 20% of people with low back pain consult a GP each year. Acute back pain is however one of the commonest reasons for GP emergency appointments.1 An average GP sees about 70 presentations of low Read more
Patients often present to a GP with ‘funny turns’ which are described as ‘dizziness’, ‘giddiness’, ‘wooziness’, ‘unsteadiness’, ‘light-headedness’, or ‘feeling faint’. The GP’s most important task is to establish what exactly the patient has experienced, because that understanding will give valuable clues to the diagnosis. It is usually best to Read more
There is no universal definition of tiredness/fatigue, but most experts include a lack of, or decreased, energy and physical or mental exhaustion and may be caused by one or more of the following: Psychological or psychosocial causes — such as depression, anxiety, loss, and stress. Physical causes — such as Read more
A 48 year old man presents to his GP with chest pain. Over the last 3 months he has noticed chest pain when out walking – he is a postman. He is getting it more frequently now, and he feels it is affecting his work as he needs to rest Read more
A 35 year old man presents with itch and discharge in his left ear. He also reports decreased hearing in that ear. He is otherwise well and takes no regular medication. He has recently been on holiday to Tenerife. Ear pain and itch are common symptoms in primary care and Read more
A 16 year old boy presents with a sore throat for three days. He has also felt feverish and thinks that the glands in his neck have swollen up again. This is the third similar presentation in the last year. Sore throat is one of the most common presentations to Read more
A 68 year old retired joiner presents with a three month history of dry cough. It is present throughout the day. He has not coughed up any blood. He denies any chest pain or breathlessness. He has not lost weight. He smokes 20 cigarettes per day. He also has hypertension. Read more
A 59 year old female presented to her GP with a six month history of increasing shortness of breath, mainly on exertion. She has no associated cough or chest pain. She has smoked 20 cigarettes a day for the last 40 years. She gets a number of chest infections per Read more