Department of Otolaryngology, Eastbourne District General Hospital, Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom.
Ear Nose Throat J. 2023 Nov;102(11):733-738. doi: 10.1177/01455613211028091. Epub 2021 Jun 25.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the introduction of telephone consultations in order to provide specialist health care remotely. This study analyses the outcomes of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) telephone consultations.
Retrospective analysis was undertaken of 400 ENT telephone consultations.
All 2-week-wait neck or face lump patients underwent imaging and 78% were successfully discharged. 80% of vertigo patients and 100% of 2-week-wait throat symptom patients were offered face-to-face consultations. All primary hyperparathyroidism patients were managed remotely, being discharged, or with telephone follow-up. The majority of routine referrals were managed without the need for face-to-face consultation.
Vertigo patients and 2-week-wait throat symptom patients should be offered a face-to-face consultation in the first instance. For patients with neck or face lumps, initial referral for imaging may improve patient flow and facilitate safe discharge. It is appropriate to continue with telephone consultations for all other patient groups.
为了远程提供专业的医疗保健，COVID-19 大流行期间引入了电话咨询。本研究分析了耳鼻喉科（ENT）电话咨询的结果。
对 400 例 ENT 电话咨询进行回顾性分析。
所有 2 周等待颈部或面部肿块的患者均进行了影像学检查，78%的患者成功出院。80%的眩晕患者和 100%的 2 周等待喉部症状患者都提供了面对面咨询。所有甲状旁腺功能亢进症患者均接受远程管理，出院或电话随访。大多数常规转诊无需面对面咨询即可得到处理。
眩晕患者和 2 周等待喉部症状患者应首先提供面对面咨询。对于颈部或面部肿块的患者，最初的影像学检查可能会改善患者流程并促进安全出院。对于所有其他患者群体，继续进行电话咨询是合适的。
