Table 2.
Demographics of first referrals to the Airway Clearance Service (ACS), n (%)
| All n = 1335 | Attending n = 1157 | Non-attending n = 178 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | |||
| Male | 543 (41) | 476 (41) | 67 (38) |
| Female | 792 (59) | 681 (59) | 111 (62) |
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 68.98 (13) | 69.18 (13) | 67.75 (15) |
| ARIA classification a | |||
| Major city | 1114 (83) | 972 (84) | 142 (80) |
| Inner regional | 177 (13) | 151 (13) | 26 (15) |
| Outer regional | 37 (3) | 29 (3) | 8 (4) |
| Remote | 7 (1) | 5 (0) | 2 (1) |
| Very remote | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Multiple classifications | 126 | ||
| SES (IRSAD Quintile) | |||
| 0 no SEIFA scoreb | 190 (14) | 171 (15) | 19 (11) |
| 1 most disadvantaged | 78 (6) | 67 (6) | 11 (6) |
| 2 | 249 (19) | 210 (18) | 39 (22) |
| 3 | 252 (19) | 217 (19) | 35 (20) |
| 4 | 228 (17) | 200 (17) | 28 (16) |
| 5 most advantaged | 338 (25) | 292 (25) | 46 (26) |
| Referral source | |||
| SALHN Respiratory Inpatients | 69 (5) | 48 (4) | 21 (12) |
| SALHN Respiratory Outpatients | 576 (43) | 497 (43) | 79 (44) |
| CALHN Respiratory Outpatients | 4 (1) | 3 (0) | 1 (0) |
| Private Respiratory Physician | 535 (40) | 476 (41) | 59 (33) |
| General Practitioner | 58 (4) | 54 (5) | 4 (2) |
| Internal Referralc | 93 (7) | 79 (7) | 14 (8) |
| Condition/reason stated on referral | |||
| Asthma | 247 (19) | 213 (18) | 34 (19) |
| Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease | 408 (31) | 344 (30) | 64 (36) |
| Asthma-COPD Overlap | 40 (3) | 37 (3) | 3 (2) |
| Bronchiectasis | 649 (49) | 579 (50) | 70 (39) |
| Interstitial Lung Disease | 83 (6) | 71 (6) | 12 (7) |
| Tracheobronchomalacia | 28 (2) | 24 (2) | 4 (2) |
| Chronic cough | 52 (4) | 44 (4) | 8 (4) |
| Lung cancer | 20 (1) | 17 (1) | 3 (2) |
| Pneumonia | 10 (1) | 7 (1) | 3 (2) |
| Otherd | 104 (8) | 90 (8) | 14 (8) |
| Number of conditions/reasons for referral | |||
| Single | 1087 (81) | 941 (81) | 146 (82) |
| Multiple | 248 (19) | 216 (19) | 32 (18) |
ARIA Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia, SES Socioeconomic Status, IRSAD Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage and Disadvantage, SEIFA Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas, SALHN Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, CALHN Central Adelaide Local Health Network, COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
aFirst ARIA classification only
bPostcode not received a SEIFA score due to low populations or low response rates for certain variables
cReferral from within the suite of out of hospital services e.g. Pulmonary Rehabilitation
dAspiration, laryngeal cancer, obstructive sleep apnoea, mucus hypersecretion, pulmonary hypertension, dyspnoea, hemi-diaphragm elevation