Audit of medical notes may provide direction

doi:10.1136/bmj.b1310

Published 31 March 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b1310
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1310

Letters

Lifestyle habits and risk of stroke

Audit of medical notes may provide direction

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

We write with reference to the EPIC Norfolk study reported byMyint et al.¹ We recently conducted an audit of medical notesover a period of six weeks of all patients discharged from theacute stroke unit at a London teaching hospital. We found thatscreening by medical staff for risk factors such as body massindex and alcohol intake was done relatively infrequently (in17% and 50% of patients, respectively) compared with, for example,hypercholesterolaemia and smoking (94% and 78%). Furthermore,lifestyle advice regarding exercise, diet and weight, salt restriction,and alcohol was given only to the minority of patients (0%,28%, 0%, and 11%). On the other hand, risk factors such as hyperlipidaemiaand atrial fibrillation were actively tackled: 89% of strokepatients were prescribed a statin on discharge and 100% withatrial fibrillation were either being anticoagulated or hada documented contraindication for anticoagulation.

As a result . . . [Full text of this article]

Smitha Addala, junior doctor¹, Soma Banerjee, geriatric specialist registrar ², Diane Ames, consultant stroke physician²

¹ West Middlesex University Hospital, Isleworth TW7 6AF, ² St. Mary’s Hospital, London W2 1NY

smitha.addala01@imperial.ac.uk

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