Low Trend for VZV-Associated Disease Patients to Visit Neurologists
Gang Xu,1,2 Site Xu,3 Weiwei Gong,2,4 Shihong Dong,2 Hecheng Yu1 1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Affiliated Tenth People’s Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, 20072, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Tongji University S...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Dove Medical Press
2023-05-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.dovepress.com/low-trend-for-vzv-associated-disease-patients-to-visit-neurologists-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-JMDH |
| _version_ | 1827946361067143168 |
|---|---|
| author | Xu G Xu S Gong W Dong S Yu H |
| author_facet | Xu G Xu S Gong W Dong S Yu H |
| author_sort | Xu G |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Gang Xu,1,2 Site Xu,3 Weiwei Gong,2,4 Shihong Dong,2 Hecheng Yu1 1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Affiliated Tenth People’s Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, 20072, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200092, People’s Republic of China; 3Division of Information and Statistics, Affiliated Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai First Rehabilitation Hospital, Shanghai, 200090, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Gang Xu, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Affiliated Tenth People’s Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, 20072, People’s Republic of China, Tel +8621-66306496, Fax +8621-66301051, Email sykfsci@126.comBackground: Herpes zoster (HZ) is a skin disease that can also cause virus-infectious peripheral neuropathies. Despite this, there is limited information on patient preferences for seeking medical attention for HZ and zoster-associated pain (ZAP). Our study aimed to evaluate how frequently patients with ZAP choose to visit neurologists for their symptoms.Methods: This study conducted a retrospective review of electronic health records in three general hospitals from January 2017 to June 2022. Using association rule mining, the study analyzed referral behaviors.Results: We identified 33,633 patients with 111,488 outpatient visits over 5.5 years. The study found that the majority of patients (74.77– 91.22%) visited dermatologists during their first outpatient visit, while only a small percentage (0.86– 1.47%) preferred to consult a neurologist. The proportion of patients referred to a specialist during their medical visit varied significantly between different specialties within the same hospital (p < 0.05) and even within the same specialty (p< 0.05). There was a weak association (Lift:1.00– 1.17) of referral behaviors between dermatology and neurology. Across the three hospitals, the average number of visits to a neurologist for ZAP was 1.42– 2.49, with an average electronic health record duration of 11– 15 days per patient. After consulting with a neurologist, some patients were referred to other specialists.Conclusion: It was observed that patients with HZ and ZAP tended to visit a variety of specialists, with only a small number seeking the assistance of neurologists. However, from the perspective of neuroprotection, it is the duty of neurologists to provide more means.Keywords: herpes zoster, zoster-associated pain, neuropathy, electronic health records, visit preferences |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T11:00:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9140c8982638413e9eab03d108fb3cb2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1178-2390 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T11:00:33Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-9140c8982638413e9eab03d108fb3cb22023-05-16T19:06:18ZengDove Medical PressJournal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare1178-23902023-05-01Volume 161379139283758Low Trend for VZV-Associated Disease Patients to Visit NeurologistsXu GXu SGong WDong SYu HGang Xu,1,2 Site Xu,3 Weiwei Gong,2,4 Shihong Dong,2 Hecheng Yu1 1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Affiliated Tenth People’s Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, 20072, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200092, People’s Republic of China; 3Division of Information and Statistics, Affiliated Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai First Rehabilitation Hospital, Shanghai, 200090, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Gang Xu, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Affiliated Tenth People’s Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, 20072, People’s Republic of China, Tel +8621-66306496, Fax +8621-66301051, Email sykfsci@126.comBackground: Herpes zoster (HZ) is a skin disease that can also cause virus-infectious peripheral neuropathies. Despite this, there is limited information on patient preferences for seeking medical attention for HZ and zoster-associated pain (ZAP). Our study aimed to evaluate how frequently patients with ZAP choose to visit neurologists for their symptoms.Methods: This study conducted a retrospective review of electronic health records in three general hospitals from January 2017 to June 2022. Using association rule mining, the study analyzed referral behaviors.Results: We identified 33,633 patients with 111,488 outpatient visits over 5.5 years. The study found that the majority of patients (74.77– 91.22%) visited dermatologists during their first outpatient visit, while only a small percentage (0.86– 1.47%) preferred to consult a neurologist. The proportion of patients referred to a specialist during their medical visit varied significantly between different specialties within the same hospital (p < 0.05) and even within the same specialty (p< 0.05). There was a weak association (Lift:1.00– 1.17) of referral behaviors between dermatology and neurology. Across the three hospitals, the average number of visits to a neurologist for ZAP was 1.42– 2.49, with an average electronic health record duration of 11– 15 days per patient. After consulting with a neurologist, some patients were referred to other specialists.Conclusion: It was observed that patients with HZ and ZAP tended to visit a variety of specialists, with only a small number seeking the assistance of neurologists. However, from the perspective of neuroprotection, it is the duty of neurologists to provide more means.Keywords: herpes zoster, zoster-associated pain, neuropathy, electronic health records, visit preferenceshttps://www.dovepress.com/low-trend-for-vzv-associated-disease-patients-to-visit-neurologists-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-JMDHherpes zosterzoster-associated painneuropathyelectronic health recordsvisit preferences |
| spellingShingle | Xu G Xu S Gong W Dong S Yu H Low Trend for VZV-Associated Disease Patients to Visit Neurologists Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare herpes zoster zoster-associated pain neuropathy electronic health records visit preferences |
| title | Low Trend for VZV-Associated Disease Patients to Visit Neurologists |
| title_full | Low Trend for VZV-Associated Disease Patients to Visit Neurologists |
| title_fullStr | Low Trend for VZV-Associated Disease Patients to Visit Neurologists |
| title_full_unstemmed | Low Trend for VZV-Associated Disease Patients to Visit Neurologists |
| title_short | Low Trend for VZV-Associated Disease Patients to Visit Neurologists |
| title_sort | low trend for vzv associated disease patients to visit neurologists |
| topic | herpes zoster zoster-associated pain neuropathy electronic health records visit preferences |
| url | https://www.dovepress.com/low-trend-for-vzv-associated-disease-patients-to-visit-neurologists-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-JMDH |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xug lowtrendforvzvassociateddiseasepatientstovisitneurologists AT xus lowtrendforvzvassociateddiseasepatientstovisitneurologists AT gongw lowtrendforvzvassociateddiseasepatientstovisitneurologists AT dongs lowtrendforvzvassociateddiseasepatientstovisitneurologists AT yuh lowtrendforvzvassociateddiseasepatientstovisitneurologists |