Descriptive analysis of neurological in-hospital consultations in a tertiary hospital. / Análisis descriptivo de las consultas intrahospitalarias dirigidas a Neurología en un hospital terciario.
Neurologia
; 32(3): 152-157, 2017 Apr.
Article
en En, Es
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26541696
INTRODUCTION: In-hospital consultations (IHC) are essential in clinical practice in tertiary hospitals. The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of neurological IHCs. PATIENTS AND METHOD: One-year retrospective descriptive study of neurological IHCs conducted from May 2013 to April 2014 at our tertiary hospital. RESULTS: A total of 472 patients were included (mean age, 62.1 years; male patients, 56.8%) and 24.4% had previously been evaluated by a neurologist. Patients were hospitalised a median of 18 days and 19.7% had been referred by another hospital. The departments requesting the most in-hospital consultations were intensive care (20.1%), internal medicine (14.4%), and cardiology (9.1%). Reasons for requesting an IHC were stroke (26.9%), epilepsy (20.6%), and confusional states (7.6%). An on-call neurologist evaluated 41.9% of the patients. The purpose of the IHC was to provide a diagnosis in 56.3% and treatment in 28.2% of the cases; 69.5% of the patients required additional tests. Treatment was adjusted in 18.9% of patients and additional drugs were administered to 27.3%. While 62.1% of cases required no additional IHCs, 11% required further assessment, and 4.9% were transferred to the neurology department. Of the patient total, 16.9% died during hospitalisation (in 37.5%, the purpose of the consultation was to certify brain death); 45.6% were referred to the neurology department at discharge and 6.1% visited the emergency department due to neurological impairment within 6 months of discharge. CONCLUSIONS: IHCs facilitate diagnosis and management of patients with neurological diseases, which may help reduce the number of visits to the emergency department. On-call neurologists are essential in tertiary hospitals, and they are frequently asked to diagnose brain death.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Derivación y Consulta
/
Centros de Atención Terciaria
/
Neurología
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
Límite:
Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
/
Es
Revista:
Neurologia
Asunto de la revista:
NEUROLOGIA
Año:
2017
Tipo del documento:
Article
Pais de publicación:
España