GP Health

BP control – a novel way to address medication adherence?

24th February 2024, A/Prof Chee L Khoo We all know how important it is for BP control in prevention cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and renal complications. We are also aware of the difficulty is improving medication adherence. We have a broad range of effective BP lowering medications covering diverse classes of medications. Anti-hypertensives work only if our […]

Posted in Cardiology, GP Issues, Internal Medicine | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on BP control – a novel way to address medication adherence?

Sarcopenia – can we measure it and how bad is it?

10th December 2023, A/Prof Chee L Khoo We don’t get old and weak. Actually, if we get weak, we become old. We all see that in practice. It doesn’t matter how old our patient is. When they become weak, they slow down. They can’t walk very far and they don’t. They become weaker and weaker. […]

Posted in Bone & Joints, GP Issues | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Sarcopenia – can we measure it and how bad is it?

LDL-C – is lower necessarily better?

9th December 2023, A/Prof Chee L Khoo We know how effective statins are in lowering cholesterol levels. Lowering of cholesterol levels, especially LDL-C, have been shown to incrementally reduce adverse cardiovascular events in patients with atherosclerotic disease. We have data to show that for every 1 mmol/L of LDL-C reduction there is a 23% reduction […]

Posted in Cardiology, GP Issues | Tagged | Comments Off on LDL-C – is lower necessarily better?

Acne – the ABC of management in primary care

27th November 2023, A/Prof Chee L Khoo Although moderate to severe acne is pretty common in primary care, our management tends to be haphazard. We have our favourite topical and oral therapy but I am not sure that that is evidence-based nor pathophysiological in our approach. When all else fails, we refer on to our […]

Posted in GP Issues | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Acne – the ABC of management in primary care

Genetic carrier screening on MBS now – what does that mean?

25th November 2023, A/Prof Chee L Khoo Reproductive genetic carrier screening for cystic fibrosis (CF), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and fragile X syndrome (FXS) has become available on the Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS). Screening for those three conditions is recommended for all couples prior to, or in the early stages of pregnancy. Great but what […]

Posted in GP Issues, Women's Health | Tagged | Comments Off on Genetic carrier screening on MBS now – what does that mean?

Precision medicine in diabetes – are we there yet?

30th October 2023, Dr Chee L Khoo When we think about precision medicine, we usually think about some fancy, expensive genetic tests that can help us determine ahead of time who is at risk of some serious diseases. This may allow us to target these patients early and reduce morbidity and mortality. There is connotation […]

Posted in Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism, GP Issues | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Precision medicine in diabetes – are we there yet?

COPD – which puffer/s?

10th September 2023, Dr Chee L Khoo We looked at the new understanding of the pathophysiology of COPD last fortnight. Armed with that information, we may be able to make sense of which puffer to use for which patient and what to escalate during their exacerbations. We already do that but, I must admit, rather […]

Posted in GP Issues, Internal Medicine | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on COPD – which puffer/s?

That receding hairline – what treatment is best?

13th August 2023, Dr Chee L Khoo Many of the male doctors are slowly losing the battle against male pattern alopecia. It’s either thinning or receding. For those who are not there yet, it’s coming. We are also seeing women joining the club. Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common form of hair loss in […]

Posted in GP Issues, Internal Medicine | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on That receding hairline – what treatment is best?

Alzheimer Disease treatment – another kid on the block?

26th July 2023, Dr Chee L Khoo First it was aducanumab then lecanemab. Now it’s donanemab. All of them purportedly showed statistically significant improvement in clinical outcomes although the “significance” is hotly debated. Although aducanumab was the first to be approved by FDA (June 2021), the limited clinical improvement together with the increased risk of […]

Posted in GP Issues, Internal Medicine, Neurology | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Alzheimer Disease treatment – another kid on the block?

Anti-platelet therapy with PCI – what do you need to know?

29th April 2023, Dr Chee L Khoo We have a increasing number of patients who has undergone a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This could be in the acute setting of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or electively during an exploratory angiogram. Stents used to be bare metal. Then came the first-generation drug eluting stents. The […]

Posted in Cardiology, GP Issues, Internal Medicine | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Anti-platelet therapy with PCI – what do you need to know?

Neuropathic pain – what works and what doesn’t?

25th April 2023, Dr Chee L Khoo We may not have many patients with neuropathic pain but patients with neuropathic pain can be heartsinks. Most of the time, nothing seems to work. It can be quite frustrating when anti-depressants after anti-depressants don’t work. The old tricyclics often don’t work either. What about pregabalin? Nope. What […]

Posted in GP Issues, Internal Medicine | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Neuropathic pain – what works and what doesn’t?

Familial hypercholesterolaemia – is it really that rare?

9th April 2023, Dr Chee L Khoo One of the most important contributor to atherosclerosis is elevated cholesterol levels. Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a genetic disease that manifests as a disorder of cholesterol metabolism by mutations in hereditary genes usually in an autosomal dominant manner.  Data suggest that 1 in 200 Caucasians are heterozygous for […]

Posted in Cardiology, Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism, GP Issues, Paediatric | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Familial hypercholesterolaemia – is it really that rare?