Table 1 Diagnoses for all hospitals combined, before (173 patients) and after (137 patients) guideline implementation.
| Before | After | Difference* (95% CI) | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnosis† | ||||
| Diabetes mellitus | 32% | 26% | — | 0.21 |
| Alcohol abuse | 14% | 6% | — | 0.02 |
| Vitamin deficiency or abuse | 6% | 9% | — | 0.31 |
| Chronic renal disease | 2% | 4% | — | 0.35 |
| Medication or toxic | 2% | 3% | — | 0.70 |
| Hypothyroidism | 2% | 3% | — | 0.70 |
| Paraproteinaemia | 9% | 9% | — | 0.84 |
| Hereditary neuropathy | 3% | 7% | — | 0.29 |
| Autoimmune or systemic disease | 4% | 4% | — | 1.00 |
| CIDP | 2% | 4% | — | 0.51 |
| Malignancy | 2% | 3% | — | 0.70 |
| Idiopathic | 43% | 49% | — | 0.36 |
| Type of polyneuropathy | ||||
| Axonal | 57% | 55% | — | 0.82 |
| Demyelinating | 13% | 12% | — | 1.00 |
| Not specified‡ | 31% | 33% | — | 0.71 |
| Number of consultations/patient§ | 4 (1) | 4 (2) | 0.1 (−0.3 to 0.5) | 0.56 |
| Time to diagnosis/patient (months)§ | 3.5 (2.4) | 2.7 (2.5) | −0.4 (−1.0 to 0.1) | 0.15 |
| Repeated investigations | 30% | 34% | — | 0.54 |
CI, confidence interval; CIDP, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy; UMCU, University Medical Centre Utrecht.
*Mean difference for the number of consultations and the time to diagnosis; †multiple diagnoses possible; ‡all in general hospitals, not in UMCU; §mean (SD).