Resumen

BARRETO, Mariana et al. Quality criteria in endoscopic exams: relevance for general practitioners. Rev Port Med Geral Fam [online]. 2020, vol.36, n.3, pp.242-250. ISSN 2182-5173.  https://doi.org/10.32385/rpmgf.v36i3.12641.

Introduction: Gastrointestinal complaints are common reasons for visits to primary care settings. In some cases, endoscopic examinations are deemed necessary. Reports of such procedures must contain various items classified as quality indicators, recommended by national and international guidelines. However, studies developed in other countries concluded that most reports are written incompletely. Aim: To assess the relevance given to the recommended quality criteria in endoscopic exams reports by general practitioners (GP). Methods: A multicentric and transversal study, including Portuguese general practice specialists and residents who accepted to participate in the present study. Data was collected by a digital questionnaire (googleforms^®) between December 1^st and February 28^th, 2019. Variables included: age, gender, workplace, regional health association, professional category, site of exam execution, endoscopy, and colonoscopy quality criteria. We used SPSS® for the statistical analysis - descriptive and inferential (Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis). Ethical approval for this study was obtained from ARS Centro. Results: One hundred ten valid answers were obtained from the questionnaire: 74.5% were female, the median age of 32.4±7.4 years, 77.0% were residents, 76.4% worked in a family health unit. Participants belonged to the five health administrative regions and the Azores. The majority (95.5%) of responders sent patients to private endoscopy units and considered the offer acceptable [3.7 +/- 1.0 (scale 1-5)]. There was a significant difference between the professional category and: description of the endoscope (p=0.010); of the colonoscope (p=0.021) and of the quality of the endoscopic reports (p=0.010). Conclusions: General practitioners should analyze the quality of the reports as an active participant in the diagnostic process. The existence of a small sample size not representative of the Portuguese GP population, is a study limitation. Participants considered highly relevant to the presence of the majority of the recommended quality indicators and the uniformization of the report content.

Palabras clave : Primary health care; Endoscopy; Digestive system.

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