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Necrotising otitis externa and how to reduce length of hospital stay: a complete audit cycle of 77 hospital admissions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 October 2021

H Mohammed ,
J Chean Khun Ng ,
M H Qureshi  and
P Yates
H Mohammed*
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, Freeman Hospital, Freeman Road, Newcastle Upon-Tyne, UK
J Chean Khun Ng
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, Freeman Hospital, Freeman Road, Newcastle Upon-Tyne, UK
M H Qureshi
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, Freeman Hospital, Freeman Road, Newcastle Upon-Tyne, UK
P Yates
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, Freeman Hospital, Freeman Road, Newcastle Upon-Tyne, UK
*
Author for correspondence: Dr H Mohammed, Department of ENT, Freeman Hospital, Freeman Road, Newcastle upon TyneNE7 7DN, UK E-mail: hmohammed@nhs.net
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Abstract

Background

Necrotising otitis externa is a serious condition that requires hospital admission. Longer hospital stays are associated with increased complications.

Method

This was a closed audit cycle in a tertiary ENT centre of patients presenting with necrotising otitis externa to the ENT department between 2015 and 2019. The aim was to audit the length of hospital stay in comparison to national figures as well as the time needed for investigations.

Results

The number of patients with necrotising otitis externa is increasing in England. Length of stay, however, appears to be more stable. A total of 66 admissions occurred over the study period for 48 patients in total, and mean length of stay was 12.4 days. After implementation of a new protocol, length of stay was reduced to 7.1 days.

Conclusion

Patients with necrotising otitis externa require prompt diagnosis and management in order to shorten length of stay in hospital and avoid serious complications. Multi-disciplinary protocol development and implementation could help in reducing length of stay of necrotising otitis externa patients.

Keywords

Skull BaseOsteomyelitisLength Of StayInpatientsCosts And Cost Analysis
Type
Short Communications
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 136 , Issue 7 , July 2022 , pp. 668 - 673
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of J.L.O. (1984) LIMITED

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Footnotes

Dr H Mohammed takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

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