Referral and consultation at the adult Endocrinology outpatient clinic: A cross-sectional study.
Keywords:
referral and consultation, endocrine diseases, outpatient clinic, diabetes mellitus, thyroid diseasesAbstract
Background
Knowledge of the pattern of referrals to the Endocrinologist helps in optimizing care and allocating resources. However, there is a dearth of information about the endocrinology outpatient service in a private tertiary setting in sub-Saharan Africa. The study aims to bridge this gap.
Methods
It is a cross-sectional study. New referrals to an endocrinology clinic were analyzed over 16 months, and the outcomes of interest included the sociodemographics, waiting time, sources of referral, and diagnoses.
Results
The final sample size was 122. The age ranged between 18 and 87 years, and the median age was 55 years. Among the participants, 51.6% were males. The appointment wait time ranged between 0 and 48 days, and the median time was 7 days. Most of the referrals came from the general practitioner clinic (48.4%) and the Cardiology clinic (21.3%). Diabetes mellitus and thyroid diseases were the most commonly seen diagnoses in this study.
Conclusions
The burden of endocrine disorders is huge, mainly from diabetes and thyroid diseases, with referrals coming from different sections of the hospital and from other hospitals.
