CPD Editorial: A Family Practice Snapshot

Abstract

This issue of SA Family Practice includes a wide variety of topics – typically what is seen and experienced in practice everyday. The first article describes a prediction rule for short-term (within 7 days) stroke prediction after a transient ischaemic attack (TIA). This article will give some guidance on deciding whether a patient should be hospitalised or if out-patient evaluation is acceptable. The prediction rule takes age, blood pressure, clinical features (like unilateral weakness, speech disturbance without weakness) and the duration of symptoms (in minutes) into account. The prediction rule is derived from an earlier study in which none of the patients with a possible TIA (those who are later diagnosed with probable or definite TIA) or those with a score of 0-3 for a probable or definite TIA had a stroke in the first seven days.