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How are solar keratoses treated by general practitioners in Australia?
Author(s) -
Streeton Catherine L.,
Gospodarevskaya Elena,
Harris Anthony H.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
international journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-4632
pISSN - 0011-9059
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-4632.2004.02477.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cryotherapy , referral , medical record , dermatology , retrospective cohort study , family medicine , pediatrics , surgery
Background This study aimed to obtain clinical and economic information about patterns of treatment of solar keratoses (SKs) by general practitioners in Australia. The study design was a retrospective survey relating to the treatment of patients presenting to their doctor with previously untreated SKs. Methods Data were collected between May and June 2000, from a sample of doctors who were asked to randomly select two SK patients from their medical records and complete a self‐administered postal questionnaire. Information about treatment types, number of visits, treatment complications, and specialist referrals were directly extracted from the patient records. Results A total of 156 patients were recruited to the study (61% male) who had been treated for a total of 251 SKs (average 1.6 lesions/patient). The most common treatment employed was cryotherapy (63%). Excision was also commonly used (18%). Five per cent of patients were treated with a mixture of excision and cryotherapy. Topical agents were not commonly employed. Of those patients who consulted a doctor, 9% were referred to a specialist for diagnosis or treatment, of which 57% were referred to a dermatologist. Conclusion The typical number of doctor visits varied from 1.9 to 4.6 with a range of cost per patient of AUD$55.13–249.70 depending on complexity of the case and the need for referral.