title: General practitioner referral of patients with symptoms of peripheral vascular disease.
abstract: A questionnaire survey has been carried out to assess the circumstances under which general practitioners refer patients with peripheral vascular disease to a district general hospital. A single-page questionnaire was sent to 100 general practitioners seeking information about their referral of patients with claudication, ischaemic rest pain or abdominal aortic aneurysms. Of the 77% who responded, over half would not refer a 70-year-old with claudication at half a mile or an 80-year-old with claudication at 100 m, and 44% would not refer an 80-year-old with a palpable abdominal aortic aneurysm. The results suggest that many elderly patients with symptomatic claudication or asymptomatic aneurysms are not currently referred. Changing referral patterns due to a heightened awareness of minimally invasive methods of treatment or the benefits of aneurysm surgery have the potential for profound effects upon vascular surgical work-load.
authors.affiliation: Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, UK.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Michaels
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Galland
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006767:Hospitals, District; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006113:United Kingdom; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures