Clinical neurophysiology referral patterns to a tertiary hospital - a prospective audit

Background Cork University Hospital (CUH) provides a tertiary service for all neurophysiology referrals in the Southern Health Board region. Aim To ascertain the number, source, symptoms and diagnosis of neurophysiology referrals at CUH. Methods We did a prospective audit of the referral patterns to the neurophysiology department over a 12-week period. Results Of 635 referrals, 254 had electromyograms (EMG), 359 had electro-encephalograms (EEG), 18 had visual evoked potentials (VEP), three had somato-sensory evoked potentials (SSEP) and one had multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT). We analysed the demographic pattern, reason for referrals, the average waiting time for neurophysiology tests and the patterns of diagnosis in this audit. Conclusions Patients from County Cork are making more use of the neurophysiology services than patients from other counties within the Southern Health Board. The average waiting time for an EEG was 32 days and for an EMG was 74 days. However, more than 35% of those patients waiting for an EEG or an EMG had their tests done within four weeks of referral. The appointments of EEG and EMG were assigned on the basis of clinical need.