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The role of a virtual telephone clinic in the follow-up management of lateral skull base tumours

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2020

S Hogan ,
J Hintze ,
C Fitzgerald ,
M Javadpour ,
D Rawluk  and
R McConn Walsh
S Hogan
Affiliation:
Neuro-Otology and Skull Base Service, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
J Hintze*
Affiliation:
Neuro-Otology and Skull Base Service, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland Department of Otolaryngology, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
C Fitzgerald
Affiliation:
Neuro-Otology and Skull Base Service, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland Department of Otolaryngology, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
M Javadpour
Affiliation:
Neuro-Otology and Skull Base Service, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland Department of Neurosurgery, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
D Rawluk
Affiliation:
Neuro-Otology and Skull Base Service, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland Department of Neurosurgery, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
R McConn Walsh
Affiliation:
Neuro-Otology and Skull Base Service, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland Department of Otolaryngology, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
*
Author for correspondence: Dr Justin M Hintze, Department of Otolaryngology, Beaumont Hospital, Beaumont Road, Dublin 9, Ireland E-mail: hintzej@tcd.ie
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Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this article was to determine the impact of employing a telephone clinic for follow-up of patients with stable lateral skull-base tumours.

Method

An analysis of 1515 patients in the national lateral skull-base service was performed, and 148 patients enrolled in the telephone clinic to date were identified. The length of time that patients waited for results of their follow-up scans and the travel distance saved by patients not having to attend the hospital for their results was determined.

Results

The mean time from scan to receiving results was 30.5 ± 32 days, 14 days sooner than in the face-to-face group (p = 0.0016). The average round-trip distance travelled by patients to the hospital for results of their scans was 256 ± 131 km.

Conclusion

The telephone clinic led to a significant reduction in time until patients received their scan results and helped reduce travel distance and clinic numbers in traditional face-to-face clinics.

Keywords

TelephoneSkull BaseNeuromaAcousticAftercare
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 134 , Issue 12 , December 2020 , pp. 1081 - 1084
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited, 2020

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Footnotes

Dr J Hintze takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

Presented at the Irish Otolaryngological Society Annual Meeting, 11–12th October 2019, Lyrath, Ireland.

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