A triage system for referrals of pediatric skull deformities

Today's referral is tomorrow's repeat patient: referrals to and between medical outpatient clinics in a hospital

Background

Unnecessary referrals in Danish hospitals may be contributing to inefficient use of health services already stretched and under pressure and may lead to delayed treatment for patients. Despite a growing awareness in the literature and in practice of issues related to referrals, there has been relatively little research on referrals between specialists in hospital outpatient clinics and how it can be improved. This study aimed to describe the referral patterns to and within the Medical Department at the University Hospital of Southern Denmark. The Medical Department consists of the following medical specialist outpatient clinics; nephrology, pulmonology, endocrinology, cardiovascular, wound outpatient clinic, and a day hospital.

Methods

Two specialist physicians assessed all referrals to the medical specialist outpatient clinics over one month (from 01 September 2019 to 30 September 2019) using data drawn from the Danish electronic patient record system (Cosmic). Data on referral pattern, and patient age and sex, were statistically analysed to identify and characterise patterns of referral.

Results

Four hundred seventy-one (100%) referrals were included in the study. 49.5% (233) of the referrals were from the hospital and 50.5% (238) from general practitioners (GPs). Of the 233 referrals from the hospitals, 31% (72) were from the Medical Department.

Conclusion

The high rate of referrals (31%) from own Medical Department or outpatient clinics may reflect an inefficient internal referral process within the department. Improved collaboration between specialists could have the potential to improve health outcomes, timely access to care and more appropriate healthcare resource utilisation.

Validation of Skully Care as a Fast Method for Quantifying Positional Cranial Deformities

Objective

Craniofacial measuring is valuable for diagnosis and evaluation of growth and treatment of positional skull deformities. Plagiocephalometry (PCM) quantifies skull deformities and is proven to be reliable and valid. However, PCM needs direct skin contact with thermoplastic material, is laborious and time-consuming. Therefore, Skully Care (SC) was developed to measure positional skull deformities with a smartphone application.

Design

SC is retrospectively compared to PCM.

Setting

Pediatric physiotherapy centers.

Patients

Age ≤1 year, analyzed or treated for positional skull deformities.

Interventions

A total of 60 skull shape analyses were performed.

Main Outcome Measures

The main outcome measures employed are Pearson correlation coefficient between cranial vault asymmetry index (CVAI; in SC) and oblique diameter difference index (ODDI; in PCM) and between cranial index (CI; in SC) and cranial proportional index (CPI; in PCM). Mann–Whitney U test determined difference of time consumption between PCM and SC.

Results

High correlation was found between CVAI and ODDI (r = 0.849; P < .01) in positional plagiocephaly and very high correlation between CI and CPI (r = 0.938; P < .01) in positional brachycephaly. SC is significantly faster than PCM (P < .001).

Conclusions

SC is valid in analyzing positional skull deformities and strongly correlates to PCM, the gold standard in daily physiotherapy practice. The combination of simplicity, validity, speed, and user and child convenience makes SC a promising craniofacial measuring method in daily practice. SC has potential to be the modern successor for analyzing positional skull deformities.

Diagnosis of infant synostotic and nonsynostotic cranial deformities: a review for pediatricians

Objective:

To review the current comprehensive care for nonsyndromic craniosynostosis and nonsynostotic cranial deformity and to offer an overall view of these craniofacial conditions.

Data source:

The review was conducted in the PubMed, SciELO, and LILACS databases without time or language restrictions. Relevant articles were selected for the review.

Data synthesis:

We included the anatomy and physiology of normal skull development of children, discussing nuances related to nomenclature, epidemiology, etiology, and treatment of the most common forms of nonsyndromic craniosynostosis. The clinical criteria for the differential diagnosis between positional deformities and nonsyndromic craniosynostosis were also discussed, giving to the pediatrician subsidies for a quick and safe clinical diagnosis. If positional deformity is accurately diagnosed, it can be treated successfully with behavior modification. Diagnostic doubts and craniosynostosis patients should be referred straightaway to a multidisciplinary craniofacial center.

Conclusions:

Pediatricians are in the forefront of the diagnosis of patients with cranial deformities. Thus, it is of paramount importance that they recognize subtle cranial deformities as it may be related to premature fusion of cranial sutures.

Diagnosis of infant synostotic and nonsynostotic cranial deformities: a review for pediatricians

OBJECTIVE

To review the current comprehensive care for nonsyndromic craniosynostosis and nonsynostotic cranial deformity and to offer an overall view of these craniofacial conditions.

DATA SOURCE

The review was conducted in the PubMed, SciELO, and LILACS databases without time or language restrictions. Relevant articles were selected for the review.

DATA SYNTHESIS

We included the anatomy and physiology of normal skull development of children, discussing nuances related to nomenclature, epidemiology, etiology, and treatment of the most common forms of nonsyndromic craniosynostosis. The clinical criteria for the differential diagnosis between positional deformities and nonsyndromic craniosynostosis were also discussed, giving to the pediatrician subsidies for a quick and safe clinical diagnosis. If positional deformity is accurately diagnosed, it can be treated successfully with behavior modification. Diagnostic doubts and craniosynostosis patients should be referred straightaway to a multidisciplinary craniofacial center.

CONCLUSIONS

Pediatricians are in the forefront of the diagnosis of patients with cranial deformities. Thus, it is of paramount importance that they recognize subtle cranial deformities as it may be related to premature fusion of cranial sutures.

Cranial Ultrasound as a First-Line Imaging Examination for Craniosynostosis

BACKGROUND

Radiography, typically the first-line imaging study for diagnosis of craniosynostosis, exposes infants to ionizing radiation. We aimed to compare the accuracy of cranial ultrasound (CUS) with radiography for the diagnosis or exclusion of craniosynostosis.

METHODS

Children aged 0 to 12 months who were assessed for craniosynostosis during 2011-2013 by using 4-view skull radiography and CUS of the sagittal, coronal, lambdoid, and metopic sutures were included in this prospective study. Institutional review board approval and parental informed consent were obtained. CUS and radiography were interpreted independently and blindly by 2 pediatric radiologists; conflicts were resolved in consensus. Sutures were characterized as closed, normal, or indeterminate. Correlation between CUS and radiography and interreader agreement were examined for each suture.

RESULTS

A total of 126 children (82 boys, 64.5%) ages 8 to 343 days were included. All sutures were normal on CUS and radiography in 115 patients (93.7%); craniosynostosis of 1 suture was detected in 8 (6.3%, 5 sagittal, 2 metopic, 1 coronal). In 3 cases the metopic suture was closed (n = 2) or indeterminate on CUS (n = 1) but normally closed on radiography. CUS sensitivity was 100%, specificity 98% (95% confidence interval 94%-100%). Reader agreement was 100% for sagittal, coronal, and lambdoid sutures (κ = 0.80); after consensus, disagreement remained on 3 metopic sutures.

CONCLUSIONS

In this series, CUS could be safely used as a first-line imaging tool in the investigation of craniosynostosis, reducing the need for radiographs in young children. Additional assessment may be required for accurate assessment of the metopic suture.