Tests

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Proteinuria: replacing cholesterol as a key risk factor for revealing patients with CVD?

We have all seen paintings of early physicians looking at flasks of urine to give an indication of a person’s health. And most of us can remember days of rows of urine pots lined up to test for new patients in primary care and in hospital outpatient clinics. We may assume that those days have gone in the era of blood testing and CT scans. So why do we have a cluster of urine pots on the cover of this issue of BJPCN and why are we suggesting that urine testing has a central role in finding patients with previously undiagnosed cardiovascular disease?

What you need to know about having an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)

This leaflet is intended to provide information for people who have been advised to have a glucose tolerance test. It is very important to follow the guidelines given below so that your test is accurate and you don’t need to repeat it.

Back to Basics: Urine tests for renal function

Urine tests for renal function: What tests detect different levels of damage?

Back to Basics: Timetable of tests for chronic kidney disease

Making Sense of HbA1c

There are several blood tests available to measure blood glucose levels. Some require the patient to fast while others do not. Understanding and interpreting the results accurately are essential in optimising the management of our patients with diabetes. This article looks specifically at the HbA1c test and its significance. We define what it is and when we should carry out this test, as well as helping you to understand what the results mean and the targets we are aiming for.

Scoring QOF points for diabetes

IIn this, the fifth article in our series on the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), we review how to score top points for diabetes. This is an area that has been managed almost wholly in Primary Care for many years. Virtually all practices now have a diabetes clinic, which generally has extensive nurse involvement – with many being nurse-led. Practices are doing extremely well in this area and many are achieving a very high percentage of points. Figures for practices in England showed that on average they scored 93.2% of the QOF points for diabetes. This article offers some pointers on how to keep up the good work.

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