Everyday Medicine with Dr Luke

First described by Samuel Gee in England in 1887 and Christian Herter in the United States, until the mid-twentieth century the disease of malnutrition and growth retardation now called Coeliac disease was known as Gee-Herter disease and managed with the so-called banana diet. We now know a great deal more about Coeliac disease which is recognised as an immune-mediated disorder characterised by ch...

First described by Samuel Gee in England in 1887 and Christian Herter in the United States, the disease of malnutrition and growth retardation now called Coeliac disease was known as Gee-Herter disease. It is now recognised as an immune-mediated disorder characterised by chronic inflammation of the proximal small bowel, which heals with gluten withdrawal from the diet and returns upon gluten reint...

While the boundaries between work and home are clear for many professions, in medicine, this boundary has traditionally not been so well defined. Medical work is notorious for invading personal life, made worse by advances in technology that have allowed a constant connection to clinical practice, especially through telephones. This facilitates work responsibilities that frequently encroach upon h...

Integrative medicine refers to the blending of conventional Western scientific medicine with evidence-based natural and complementary medicines and therapies, with an emphasis on lifestyle interventions aimed at delivering holistic, patient-centred care. The objective of integrative medicine is to enable patients to achieve optimal clinical outcomes, and this approach aims to treat the physical, e...

Most doctors in Australia are now very familiar with the use of telehealth and, in some cases, video health, as they have both been widely used during the Covid-19 pandemic. Northern Health, with its flagship Northern Hospital located in Melbourne's Epping, in conjunction with La Trobe University, has been incredibly innovative in extending the concept of the virtual consultation and establish...

Disclaimer: Please note that the audio quality in this podcast episode may not meet our usual high standards. We apologise for any inconvenience or frustration this may cause. Despite the subpar audio quality, we believe the information and insights shared in this episode are valuable and worth sharing with our audience. We have made every effort to enhance the audio quality during the editing pro...

Renal stones are common, at least 10% of our population will develop stones in their lifetime. One of the consequences of ureteric colic, which is the formation of stones, is reported in 3 out of every 1000 Australians per year, with a male predominance and a curious increasing incidence. Stones form when urine becomes supersaturated by minerals. Most stones contain calcium but there are many othe...

Haematuria is a common presenting problem in primary care, with some estimates stating that blood in the urine may be found in between 2-30% of the adult population. Haematuria may be macroscopic or microscopic which is defined as more than 3RBC/HPF and arising from glomerular or non-glomerular origin. Although only 40% of patients with macroscopic haematuria and 14.5% with microscopic haematuria...

Recently, whilst holidaying in Daylesford, I came across a copy of David Gillespie’s book - Sweet Poison. It was lying on the library’s coffee table. Its subtitle: “Why sugar makes us fat” promised to answer a question I was particularly interested in. I picked up the book and began reading, after completing the first chapter I was unable to rest Sweet Poison down. I have now read it a couple of t...

In an earlier episode, we reviewed the principles of radiation therapy from a general perspective. This field of medicine unifies the management of cancer, by harnessing the therapeutic benefits of radiation, utilising ionising radiation. A specific form of this treatment is stereotactic radiotherapy, which administers radiotherapy from different angles around the body, with the focus of ionisatio...

Urinary tract infections are one of the top twenty reasons patients present, for primary care. According to Kidney Health Australia, 1 in 2 women and 1 in 20 men will develop a urinary tract infection in their lifetime. Approximately 4 in 10 women who develop a UTI will have at least one more infection in the next 6 months. Furthermore, 4% of patients in residential care develop recurrent UTIs, wh...

A patient approaching a doctor expects medical treatment with all the knowledge and skill that the doctor possesses, to bring relief to his or her medical problem. The relationship takes the shape of a contract. Equally, a doctor owes certain duties to his patient and a breach of any of these duties gives a cause of action for negligence against the doctor. As doctors, we have a duty to obtain pri...

The term Multiple Myeloma was introduced in 1873 by von Rustizky when at autopsy he found 8 separate tumours of the bone marrow in a patient, described as soft in consistency and reddish in colour and thence called “Multiple Myeloma”. Today over 2400 Australians are diagnosed annually with Multiple Myeloma. It is slightly more common in men, with an average age of onset at 70 years. Myeloma accoun...

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has emerged as one of the more important clinical problems being faced by primary care clinicians and hepatologists and is estimated to affect 20-30% of our population. Closely linked to metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and diabetes, an increasing prevalence of this condition mirrors the rising average BMI of western societies. Decompensated cirrhosis requir...

Functional hands and fingers are taken for granted until they are damaged by disease or injury. The hand is an incredibly complex structure tasked with fine motor skills as well as the power of grip. Its incredible sensory connections communicate to us the beauty of touch, and the importance of temperature and texture and serve as a vital link in our relationship with the world. The hand is stabil...

Musculoskeletal disorders are a common cause of long-term disability and are estimated to make up about 15% of the workload of general practitioners. Joint pain specifically is also extremely common, especially as one ages. In one national survey, one-third of adults reported having joint pain within the past 30 days. Knee pain was the most common complaint followed by shoulder and hip pain. Epide...

Musculoskeletal disorders are a common cause of long-term disability and are estimated to make up about 15% of the workload of general practitioners. Joint pain specifically is also extremely common, especially as one ages. In one national survey, one third of adults reported having joint pain within the past 30 days. Knee pain was the most common complaint followed by shoulder and hip pain. Epide...

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in Australia with about 15,500 cases reported last year accounting for 10% of all new cancer diagnoses. Death from colorectal cancer at about 5300 yearly ranks only second behind lung cancer and accounts for about 10% of all cancer deaths in Australia highlighting the importance of its early detection and treatment. Recognising these cr...

In the last 12 months, 121,000 Australians were diagnosed with diabetes, this statistic represents a 7% increase from the preceding year. There are now over 1.236 million Australians with type 2 diabetes and over 129,000 with type 1 diabetes and about 50,000 Australians have gestational diabetes each year -these staggering figures mean that 332 new diagnoses occur each day, about one new case ever...

In the last 12 months, 121,000 Australians were diagnosed with diabetes, this statistic represents a 7% increase from the preceding year. There are now over 1.236 million Australians with type 2 diabetes and over 129,000 with type 1 diabetes and about 50,000 Australians have gestational diabetes each year -these staggering figures mean that 332 new diagnoses occur each day, about one new case ever...

The provision of healthcare to our indigenous population provides both a privilege and a challenge for administrators, doctors, nurses and allied healthcare workers. For most of us living far away in metropolitan centres, comfortably ignorant and sheltered from these very real challenges we can only begin to imagine the cultural sensitivities, demands and clinical problems at hand. The central Aus...

Radiation oncology occupies a very important place in cancer therapy as an essential member of the multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment . Of the near 146 000 Australians diagnosed with cancer each year is estimated that about half would benefit from radiation therapy as part of their overall cancer treatment. Radiation therapy is a highly cost-effective cancer therapy contributing only a...

Radiation oncology occupies a very important place in cancer therapy as an essential member of the multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment . Of the near 146 000 Australians diagnosed with cancer each year is estimated that about half would benefit from radiation therapy as part of their overall cancer treatment. Radiation therapy is a highly cost-effective cancer therapy contributing only a...

In the September 25-26 edition of the weekend Australian magazine, I was drawn to a very interesting feature article reviewing the book Hippocrasy co-written by Professor Rachelle Buchbinder who is a rheumatologist as well as director of the Monash Cabrini Department of musculoskeletal health and clinical epidemiology at Cabrini Hospital and Professor of clinical epidemiology at Monash University...

The field of regenerative medicine is likely to significantly change how we practice medicine in the future with some amazing capabilities -harnessing the power of stem cells to restore form and function of damaged tissue. The potential of regenerative medicine has already being recognised in the areas of immunotherapy and bone marrow transplantation however the future is likely to see many furthe...