One stop neck lump clinic: a boon for quick diagnosis and early management

• Published in: European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology Vol. 278; no. 12; pp. 4951 - 4954
• Main Authors: Sood, Tarun, Supriya, Mrinal, Thopil, Jacob, Surendra, Vishak, Patel, Barun Bhai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2021
• Subjects: Ambulatory Care Facilities; Biopsy, Fine-Needle; Head and Neck; Head and Neck Neoplasms - diagnosis; Head and Neck Neoplasms - therapy; Head and Neck Surgery; Humans; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neck - diagnostic imaging; Neurosurgery; Otorhinolaryngology; Retrospective Studies; Ultrasonography; Lymph node; Outpatient clinics hospital; Fine needle aspiration cytology; Neck; Diagnosis; Ultrasound; Head and Neck Neoplasms
• ISSN: 0937-4477; 1434-4726
• DOI: 10.1007/s00405-021-06729-1

Introduction One-stop neck lump clinics (OSNLC) are gaining popularity worldwide especially in the UK hospitals following NICE recommendation. The main aim of this speciality clinic is a quick diagnosis and early management while simultaneously improving patient experience. Objectives To analyse and compare the efficacy of OSNLC and general ENT/Head and neck clinic with specifics to a number of appointments required for formulating management plan and a number of ‘one stop’ visits. Design Retrospective observational study Setting Regional Head and Neck Cancer Center (Secondary care hospital) Participants Patients referred by General practitioner with symptoms of a neck lump Main outcome measures Patients seen in general ENT/Head and neck and OSNLC in 2 phases to understand the difference in a number of appointments, one-stop visits, the requirement of Ultrasound and efficiency of Fine needle aspiration. Results and conclusions Improved efficacy of OSNLC was noted as patients seen in the clinic required a lesser number of appointments, reached a faster diagnosis and management plan when compared to patients seen in general ENT clinic.