Face-to-face consultations
Of the 75 patients included in the face-to-face cohort, the mean age was
56 years (range 19-91) with patients waiting a mean of 9 months from
referral to clinic review (range 0-22). Referral sources included GP
(40), Audiology (14), internal referrals from a different
otorhinolaryngology subspecialty (9), external otorhinolaryngology
departments (2), Neurosurgery (3), Oral and Maxillofacial surgery (2),
Accident and Emergency (2), Neurology (1) and Dermatology (1). In one
patient, we were unable to locate the referral information. Presenting
symptoms for patients in the face-to-face cohort are summarised in table
3. A definitive outcome was reached in 53/75 patients (71%), where they
were either discharged (47, 63%) or added to a waiting list for
treatment (6, 8%), following initial review. Follow-up was scheduled
for 22/75 (29%) patients with 16 booked for further face-to-face
follow-up and 6 booked for telephone follow-up. Indications for
face-to-face follow-up included a review following a trial of medical
therapy and/or investigations (12/16) and further microsuction (4/16).
Indications for telephone follow-up included review of progress
following treatment (3/6) and discussion of scan results (3/6). 39/75
(52%) of patients were seen by a consultant in clinic and 36/75 (48%)
were seen by a registrar.