Referral rates for children with acute gastroenteritis: a retrospective cohort study
Background: Hospital admission rates are increasing for children with acute gastroenteritis. However, it is unknown whether this increase is accompanied by an increase in referral rates from GPs due to increased workloads in primary care out-of-hours (OOH) services. Aim: To assess trends in referral...
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doaj-e306e20b68304972899fa5bf8423437a2020-11-25T03:56:31ZengRoyal College of General PractitionersBJGP Open2398-37952020-07-014310.3399/bjgpopen20X101053Referral rates for children with acute gastroenteritis: a retrospective cohort studyPien Ingrid Wolters0Gea Holtman1Freek Fickweiler2Irma Bonvanie3Anouk Weghorst4Johan Post5Boudewijn Kollen6Marjolein Berger7Department of General Practice and Elderly Care Medicine, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsDepartment of General Practice and Elderly Care Medicine, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsDepartment of General Practice and Elderly Care Medicine, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsDepartment of General Practice and Elderly Care Medicine, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsDepartment of General Practice and Elderly Care Medicine, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsDepartment of Out-of-Hours Service Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsDepartment of General Practice and Elderly Care Medicine, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsDepartment of General Practice and Elderly Care Medicine, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsBackground: Hospital admission rates are increasing for children with acute gastroenteritis. However, it is unknown whether this increase is accompanied by an increase in referral rates from GPs due to increased workloads in primary care out-of-hours (OOH) services. Aim: To assess trends in referral rates from primary care OOH services to specialist emergency care for children presenting with acute gastroenteritis. Design & setting: This retrospective cohort study covered a period from September 2007–September 2014. Children aged 6 months to 6 years presenting with acute gastroenteritis to a primary care OOH service were included. Method: Pseudonymised data were obtained, and children were analysed overall and by age category. Χ2 trend tests were used to assess rates of acute gastroenteritis, referrals, face-to-face contacts, and oral rehydration therapy (ORT) prescriptions. Results: The data included 12 455 children (6517 boys), with a median age of 20.2 months (interquartile range [IQR] 11.6 to 36.0 months). Over 7 years, incidence rates of acute gastroenteritis decreased significantly, and face-to-face contact rates increased significantly (both, P<0.01). However, there was no significant trend for referral rates (P = 0.87) or prescription rates for ORT (P = 0.82). Subgroup analyses produced comparable results, although there was an increase in face-to-face contact rates for the older children. Conclusion: Incidence rates for childhood acute gastroenteritis presenting in OOH services decreased and referral rates did not increase significantly. These findings may be useful as a reference for the impact of new interventions for childhood acute gastroenteritis.https://bjgpopen.org/content/4/3/bjgpopen20X101053after-hours caregastroenteritispediatricspaediatricsprimary carereferral |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Pien Ingrid Wolters Gea Holtman Freek Fickweiler Irma Bonvanie Anouk Weghorst Johan Post Boudewijn Kollen Marjolein Berger |
spellingShingle |
Pien Ingrid Wolters Gea Holtman Freek Fickweiler Irma Bonvanie Anouk Weghorst Johan Post Boudewijn Kollen Marjolein Berger Referral rates for children with acute gastroenteritis: a retrospective cohort study BJGP Open after-hours care gastroenteritis pediatrics paediatrics primary care referral |
author_facet |
Pien Ingrid Wolters Gea Holtman Freek Fickweiler Irma Bonvanie Anouk Weghorst Johan Post Boudewijn Kollen Marjolein Berger |
author_sort |
Pien Ingrid Wolters |
title |
Referral rates for children with acute gastroenteritis: a retrospective cohort study |
title_short |
Referral rates for children with acute gastroenteritis: a retrospective cohort study |
title_full |
Referral rates for children with acute gastroenteritis: a retrospective cohort study |
title_fullStr |
Referral rates for children with acute gastroenteritis: a retrospective cohort study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Referral rates for children with acute gastroenteritis: a retrospective cohort study |
title_sort |
referral rates for children with acute gastroenteritis: a retrospective cohort study |
publisher |
Royal College of General Practitioners |
series |
BJGP Open |
issn |
2398-3795 |
publishDate |
2020-07-01 |
description |
Background: Hospital admission rates are increasing for children with acute gastroenteritis. However, it is unknown whether this increase is accompanied by an increase in referral rates from GPs due to increased workloads in primary care out-of-hours (OOH) services. Aim: To assess trends in referral rates from primary care OOH services to specialist emergency care for children presenting with acute gastroenteritis. Design & setting: This retrospective cohort study covered a period from September 2007–September 2014. Children aged 6 months to 6 years presenting with acute gastroenteritis to a primary care OOH service were included. Method: Pseudonymised data were obtained, and children were analysed overall and by age category. Χ2 trend tests were used to assess rates of acute gastroenteritis, referrals, face-to-face contacts, and oral rehydration therapy (ORT) prescriptions. Results: The data included 12 455 children (6517 boys), with a median age of 20.2 months (interquartile range [IQR] 11.6 to 36.0 months). Over 7 years, incidence rates of acute gastroenteritis decreased significantly, and face-to-face contact rates increased significantly (both, P<0.01). However, there was no significant trend for referral rates (P = 0.87) or prescription rates for ORT (P = 0.82). Subgroup analyses produced comparable results, although there was an increase in face-to-face contact rates for the older children. Conclusion: Incidence rates for childhood acute gastroenteritis presenting in OOH services decreased and referral rates did not increase significantly. These findings may be useful as a reference for the impact of new interventions for childhood acute gastroenteritis. |
topic |
after-hours care gastroenteritis pediatrics paediatrics primary care referral |
url |
https://bjgpopen.org/content/4/3/bjgpopen20X101053 |
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