[Analysis of the demand for neurological health care generated by primary care in a geographical area within the districts of Girona].

AIM

To perform a descriptive analysis of the outpatient activity in a neurological department in terms of the frequency and type of neurological diseases that were attended.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A retrospective and cross-sectional study was conducted involving patients referred to the neurology outpatients department. The cases that visited for the first time during the years 2006 and 2007 were recorded consecutively. Medical information was evaluated based on computerised hospital registers and the following data were collected: health referral area, date of visit, age, sex and diagnosis according to the International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition, clinical modification (CIE-9-MC), reconverted into the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (CIE-10).

RESULTS

The mean age was 60.6 +/- 20.9 years (range: 4-95 years) and 61.4% were females. The rate of frequency of visits was 4.3 requests/1000 inhabitants for the year 2006 and 3.9 for the year 2007; an increase was observed with age for the neurodegenerative diseases. As far as the CIE-10 is concerned, the diseases were classified as episodic and paroxysmal (25%), degenerative and demyelinating (18.6%), organic mental disorders (14.7%), extrapyramidal syndromes (10.5%), diseases affecting cerebral circulation (3.5%), stress-related disorders and somatomorphs (3.5%) and diseases of the inner ear (3.3%). The remaining pathologies did not reach 3% of the total. Diseases of the central nervous system were observed in 61% of the patients and psychiatric disorders were found in 20.3%. The most common diseases were cognitive disorders (31.5%), headaches (18.6%) and movement disorders (11.7%), followed by psychiatric diseases, epilepsies, cerebrovascular diseases and neuropathies.

CONCLUSIONS

The frequency of visits increases with age and the order, in terms of frequency, was: episodic and paroxysmal, degenerative and demyelinating, psychotic and behavioural disorders, and extrapyramidal syndromes.