BJGP Research Conference

BJGP Research Conference is a one-day focused event with lots of new information for your CPD, and opportunities for networking with other primary care academics and clinicians. Workshops, plenaries, and parallel sessions provide learning opportunities valuable to researchers at all stages of their career. By ‘pulling back the curtain’ on the publishing process, the BJGP reveals how medical journals and academic publishing work, providing insight to new and established authors. See the Programme and book your place today.

Workshops include: Build a second brain: taking smart notes and ‘Personal Knowledge Management’ systems; How to get published for early career researchers; and All you need to know about non-research writing. The keynote speaker is Prof. Trish Greenhalgh, and there will be many opportunities to engage with other primary care academics and clinicians. Find out more at BJGP Research Conference.

Natriuretic peptide testing and heart failure diagnosis

For people presenting to primary care with symptoms of heart failure, guidelines recommend natriuretic peptide testing to inform referral. However, European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines differ three-fold in their suggested cut-offs. A lower threshold means fewer cases of heart failure are missed but more diagnostic assessments are required. In addition, this study shows that a natriuretic peptide level below both ESC and NICE recommended thresholds is reliable for ruling out heart failure.

BJGP Top 10 research

This is the Top 10 most read and published research in 2022. Listen to the accompanying podcast where BJGP Editors discuss the Top 10. No. 10. Burnout among GPs: estimates of GP burnout vary across studies, from 6% to 32%. No. 9. Breast pain and breast cancer: breast pain alone is not associated with breast cancer. No. 8. Consequences of online consultations: these can disadvantage some patients and create additional work for staff. No. 7. Anxiety prescribing: prescribing increases may reflect better detection, but some prescribing is not evidence based. No. 6. Speculum-free cervical screening: 17% more women undertook cervical screening when offered a speculum-free test. No. 5. Continuity of care for dementia: higher continuity is associated with lower risk of delirium, incontinence, and emergency admissions. No. 4. GP wellbeing during COVID-19: international evidence and key sources of GP stress. No. 3. Why GPs rarely do video consultations: phone is often preferred, as well as face-to-face when visuals are needed. No. 2. Proton pump inhibitor overuse: predictors of PPI overuse include unnecessary ulcer prophylaxis. No. 1. Unreliability of the NICE Traffic Light tool: this tool was found to be unreliable for identifying seriously unwell children in primary care.