Current healthcare pathways in the treatment of rhinosinusitis in Germany

Abstract

Background: In the outpatient setting in Germany, patients with rhinosinusitis usually present at general practices (GP) or ear, nose, and throat practices (ENT) for initial diagnosis and treatment.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the referral patterns of rhinosinusitis patients in GPs and ENT practices in Germany, with respect to existing recommendations.

Material and methods: The study sample included patients from 940 GP and 106 ENT practices from Disease Analyzer database (IQVIA) who received an acute sinusitis (AS) or chronic sinusitis (CS), or nasal polyp (NP) in 2015.

Results: The total numbers of patients in GP versus ENT practices were 24,648 versus 12,095 (AS), 26,768 versus 19,826 (CS), and 516 versus 1773 patients (NP). Referrals to ENT practices were made by GP in 12.3% (AS), 14.8% (CS), and 40.5% (NP). The percentages of patients in GP versus ENT practices with subsequent hospital admissions were 6.9 versus 3.3% (AS), 6.3 versus 6.5% (CS), and 9.5 versus 13.8% (NP), respectively.

Conclusions: Although 40% of patients with NP who consult GPs are referred to ENT practices, it remains unclear how the other 60% are being treated. The hospital admission rates of patients with CS as well as of patients with NP were found to be surprisingly low.

背景：在德国的门诊系统, 鼻 - 鼻窦炎患者通常去全科诊所（GP）或耳鼻喉科专科诊所（ENT）获取初步诊断和治疗。

目标：本研究的目的是根据现有建议, 分析德国全科诊所和耳鼻喉科专科诊所的鼻 - 鼻窦炎患者的转诊模式。

材料和方法：研究样本包括来自疾病分析数据库（IQVIA）的940 个GP诊所和106个 ENT诊所的患者。这些患者在2015年接受了急性鼻窦炎（AS）或慢性鼻窦炎（CS）或鼻息肉（NP）治疗。

结果：GP与ENT的患者总数分别为24,648与12,095（AS）、26,768与19,826（CS）、516与1773（NP）。 GP的转诊率为12.3％（AS）、14.8％（CS）和40.5％（NP）。 GP与ENT的随后进医院治疗的患者百分比分别为6.9％与3.3％（AS）、6.3％与6.5％（CS）、9.5％与13.8％（NP）。

结论：尽管有40％的NP患者咨询了全科医生, 但是仍然不清楚其他60％的患者是如何治疗的。CS患者和NP患者的入院率低得惊人。

Keywords:

• Chronic rhinosinusitis
• nasal polyps
• health care
• referral

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.