title: Expectantly waiting: a survey of thyroid surgery wait times among Canadian otolaryngologists.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our objective is to highlight discrepancies between actual wait times and perceived appropriate wait times for various thyroid pathologies among Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgeons in Canada; and to identify specific diagnoses/pathologies where wait times could be improved.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire was distributed to all practicing CSO-HNS members. Questions focused on actual wait times for initial consults and surgery within individual practices, in the setting of various thyroid pathologies. Respondents were also asked to state wait times that they felt were appropriate for each scenario. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were performed to determine statistically significant differences between actual and appropriate wait times.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For most scenarios, the actual wait times were significantly longer than most physicians felt were appropriate; these scenarios included time to initial consult for undiagnosed nodules, time to surgery for confirmed malignancies, and time to completion thyroidectomy for surgically confirmed malignancies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Wait times for thyroid consults and surgeries in Canada are longer than physicians feel are appropriate. The authors hope that this survey may spur a move towards a national consensus on appropriate wait times for the treatment of thyroid pathology.
authors.affiliation: Room 826, Victoria Building, QEII Health Sciences Centre, 1278 Tower Road, Halifax, NS B3H-2Y9, Canada. drrobhart@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brake
authors.forename: Paige
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: S Mark
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trites
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hart
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016606:Thyroid Nodule / Q000601:surgery*; D013965:Thyroidectomy; D014850:Waiting Lists
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