Jithoo R, Govender P V, Corr P, Nathoo N
Department of Neurosurgery, Wentworth Hospital, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of Natal, Durban, South Africa.
J Telemed Telecare. 2003;9(2):63-6. doi: 10.1258/135763303321327894.
We carried out a retrospective analysis of all emergency referrals to the neurosurgery department of the Wentworth Hospital from 1996 to 1999. The hospital provided a service to seven peripheral hospitals with computerized tomography (CT) scanners and 46 hospitals without, in the province of KwaZulu Natal. By the end of the study, six of the hospitals with CT scanners had facilities for teleradiology and the mean patient return rate had fallen to 17%. In comparison, almost half the patients seen from the hospitals with no CT scanners were returned to hospital after assessment at the Wentworth Hospital. We also carried out a prospective analysis of 100 consecutive teleradiology-assisted consultations from January to March 2000. Of the 57 patients (79%) who remained at their referral hospitals, 45 had a good outcome, while the other 12 (21%) patients had a poor outcome. The implementation of teleradiology-assisted consultation decreased the number of inappropriate inter-hospital transfers while maintaining appropriate patient care and improving outcome.
我们对1996年至1999年转诊至温特沃斯医院神经外科的所有急诊病例进行了回顾性分析。该医院为夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省的7家配备计算机断层扫描（CT）扫描仪的周边医院以及46家未配备CT扫描仪的医院提供服务。到研究结束时，6家配备CT扫描仪的医院具备远程放射学设施，患者平均返回率降至17%。相比之下，温特沃斯医院评估后，来自未配备CT扫描仪医院的患者中，近一半被送回了原医院。我们还对2000年1月至3月连续100例远程放射学辅助会诊进行了前瞻性分析。在留在转诊医院的57例患者（79%）中，45例预后良好，另外12例（21%）患者预后不佳。远程放射学辅助会诊的实施减少了不适当的医院间转诊数量，同时维持了适当的患者护理并改善了预后。
