Table I.
Characteristics of symptoms without diagnosis (compared with specific diagnoses).
| Symptom n (%) |
Disease/disorder diagnosed n (%) |
Total n (%) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1871 | 3361 | 5232 | ||
| Gender: | ||||
| Female | 1167 (62.4) | 2003 (59.6) | 3170 (60.6) | 0.0491 |
| Male | 704 (37.6) | 1358 (40.4) | 2062 (39.4) | |
| Age: | ||||
| 0–18 years | 293 (15.7) | 529 (15.7) | 822 (15.7) | 0.0011 |
| > 18 and < 65 years | 1179 (63.0) | 1968 (58.6) | 3147 (60.2) | |
| 65 + years | 399 (21.3) | 864 (25.7) | 1263 (24.1) | |
| Consultation type:* | ||||
| First consultation | 1162 (66.6) | 1746 (55.3) | 2908 (59.4) | < 0.0012 |
| Follow-up consultation | 582 (33.4) | 1410 (44.7) | 1992 (40.7) | |
| Reason for encounter according to the GP:* | ||||
| Symptom | 1627 (92.2) | 1484 (48.0) | 3111 (64.0) | < 0.0012 |
| Disease/disorder | 137 (7.8) | 1609 (52.0) | 1746 (36.0) | |
| Concomitant chronic disorder: | ||||
| No | 1146 (61.3) | 1808 (53.8) | 2954 (56.5) | < 0.0012 |
| Yes | 725 (38.7) | 1553 (46.2) | 2278 (43.5) | |
| GP assessment of final outcome:* | ||||
| Specific diagnosis | 925 (50.8) | 2535 (77.8) | 3460 (68.1) | < 0.0012 |
| Resolving symptom | 718 (39.4) | 561 (17.2) | 1279 (25.2) | |
| Persistent (medically unexplained) symptom | 179 (9.8) | 164 (5.0) | 343 (6.7) | |
| Length of consultation:* | ||||
| < = 5 minutes | 188 (10.2) | 491 (14.8) | 679 (13.1) | < 0.0012 |
| 5–15 minutes | 1281 (69.5) | 2251 (67.7) | 3532 (68.4) | |
| 15–30 minutes | 338 (18.4) | 545 (16.4) | 883 (17.1) | |
| > 30 minutes | 35 (1.9) | 37 (1.1) | 72 (1.4) | |
| Burden* | ||||
| 1–2 (0–20 centile) | 510 (27.9) | 1236 (37.3) | 1746 (34.0) | < 0.0012 |
| 3–6 (20–80 centile) | 943 (51.5) | 1574 (47.6) | 2517 (49.0) | |
| 7–10 (80–100 centile) | 377 (20.6) | 501 (15.1) | 878 (17.1) |
Notes: *Missing values in GP questionnaire were: RFE (n = 375), consultation type (n = 332), GP assessment (n = 150), length of consultation (n = 66), burden (n = 91).
Statistical tests: 1 = chi-squared test, 2 = Wald test adjusted for gender, age, chronic disorder, and GP clusters.