Objective: To describe consultation practice patterns of an otolaryngology chief resident in China.
Method: The pattern and frequency of patient encounters during the Xijing Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University otolaryngology residency program for one chief resident were retrospectively analyzed.
Result: A total of 1062 new inpatients were consulted during a 10-month period of otolaryngology residency, including emergency consultation for 467 cases (43.97%) and routine consultation for 595 cases (56.03%). The chief resident consulted an average of 28 new patients perweek. The most common diagnosis for an emergency consultation was epistaxis (279 cases, 59.72% of emergency consultation), characterized by disturbances of blood coagulation, hypertension, renal failure or liver failure, iatrogenic factors. The second cause was laryngeal obstruction and tracheotomy (113 cases, 24.19% of emergency consultation). There were 43 cases with foreign body in bronchus . For routine consultation on general internal medicine, chronic rhinitis and sinusitis (169 cases) was the most common disorder, followed by chronic pharyngitis, acute or chronic tonsillitis. For consultation on surgery, most cases were concerned about preoperative evaluations (67 cases) of the chronic otolaryngological disorders.
Conclusion: Consultation is an inimitable clinical practice and a challenge to otolaryngology residents. The chief residents should be prepared for the consultation practice. Accumulation of related data from consultation is necessary and helpful for chief residents.