Management of children with non-acute abdominal pain and diarrhea in Dutch primary care: a retrospective cohort study based on a routine primary care database (AHON)

AbstractObjective To describe the testing, prescription, referral, and follow-up management by general practitioners (GPs) for children presenting with non-acute abdominal pain and/or diarrhea in primary care.Design Retrospective cohort study with one-year follow-up.Setting Registry data from a Dutch primary care database (AHON) between 2015 and 2019.Subjects Children aged 4–18 years old who presented by face-to-face consultation in primary care for non-acute abdominal pain and/or diarrhea (>7 days).Main outcome measures We recorded the proportions of children who received (1) diagnostic te... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Sophie M. Ansems
Marjolein Y. Berger
Elaine Pieterse
Sjaantje Nanne
Gina G. Beugel
Ria P. E. Couwenberg
Gea A. Holtman
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2023
Reihe/Periodikum: Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, Vol 41, Iss 3, Pp 267-275 (2023)
Verlag/Hrsg.: Taylor & Francis Group
Schlagwörter: General practice / children / abdominal pain / diarrhea / functional disorders / Public aspects of medicine / RA1-1270
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27019366
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.1080/02813432.2023.2231054

AbstractObjective To describe the testing, prescription, referral, and follow-up management by general practitioners (GPs) for children presenting with non-acute abdominal pain and/or diarrhea in primary care.Design Retrospective cohort study with one-year follow-up.Setting Registry data from a Dutch primary care database (AHON) between 2015 and 2019.Subjects Children aged 4–18 years old who presented by face-to-face consultation in primary care for non-acute abdominal pain and/or diarrhea (>7 days).Main outcome measures We recorded the proportions of children who received (1) diagnostic testing, medicine prescriptions, follow-up consultations, and referrals at their first visit and (2) repeat consultations and referrals by one-year of follow-up.Results Among the 2200 children (median age, 10.5 years; interquartile range, 7.0–14.6) presenting to a GP with non-acute abdominal pain and/or diarrhea, most reported abdominal pain (78.7%). At the first visit, GPs performed diagnostic testing for 32.2%, provided a prescription to 34.5%, and referred 2.5% to secondary care. Twenty-five percent of the children had a follow-up consultation within four weeks and 20.8% had a repeat consultation between four weeks and one year. Thirteen percent of the children were referred to secondary care by one year. However, only 1% of all children had documentation of an organic diagnosis needing management in secondary care.Conclusion One-third of children received diagnostic testing or a medicine prescription. Few had a follow-up consultation and >10% was referred to pediatric care. Future research should explore the motivations of GPs why and which children receive diagnostic and medical interventions.