Abstract
Objectives: In response to the ENT UK guidance at the start of
the COVID-19 outbreak to cancel all routine clinics and give patients
telephone reviews, the ENT department at the West Suffolk Hospital
decided to trial a questionnaire to help clinicians with telephone
assessment of patients with dizziness. This study aimed to assess what
effect introducing a questionnaire had on the telephone consultation
outcomes.
Study Design: Prospective Single Centre Randomised Pilot Study
using the Roland Dizziness Questionnaire (RDQ)(1).
Participants: All 115 patients awaiting otolaryngological
assessment for balance were randomised to receive a validated dizziness
questionnaire or not.
Main Outcome Measures: Consultation outcomes recorded: ability
to come to a diagnosis, need for investigations, need for additional
follow up and onward referral to other specialties.
Results and Conclusions: 82/115 patients had consultations with
complete data collection, 35 in the questionnaire group (QG) and 47 in
the no questionnaire group (NQG). Response rate (returned completed
questionnaires) in the QG was 70%. Clinicians came to a provisional
diagnosis in 77% of QG patients vs 57% of NQG patients. QG patients
only required additional investigations 26% of the time compared to
72% in the NQG (p<0.05). Only 17% of QG patients needed
additional telephone follow up, compared to 43% of NQG patients
(P<0.05).
Using an abbreviated dizziness questionnaire increased clinicians’
ability to come to a diagnosis at the end of a telephone consultation.
It reduced the need for additional investigations and further telephone
follow-up, thereby keeping patients away from the hospital and freeing
up capacity.