Utility of Video Consultation in Digestive Diseases

Main Article Content

Modesto Varas Lorenzo Tania Navas Serra César Morcillo Serra

Abstract

Introduction: Despite the rise of video consultation, most consultations in patients with digestive diseases tend to be face-to-face.


 Objective and Methods: In 2016, gastroenterology video consultation was implemented in the hospital. A prospective and descriptive study of a series of patients attended consecutively by video consultation by a gastroenterology specialist for 50 months. We have analyzed which syndromes and digestive diseases are susceptible to being performed by video consultation.


Results: Two hundred fifty patients were selected (100 during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic), 50.4% men and 49.6% women, with a mean age of 48 (SD 18-9) years. The main reason for the consultation of the 142 patients (56.8%) with definitive diagnoses was: dyspepsia, hepatobiliary disease, diarrhea, gastroesophageal reflux, and irritable bowel syndrome. The final diagnosis was dyspepsia (21%), hepatobiliary disease (16%), diarrhea (9%), irritable bowel syndrome (8.4%), intolerances (including gluten intolerance and sensitivity) (8.4%), gastroesophageal reflux disease (7,7%), and inflammatory bowel disease (6.3%). The concordance between the diagnostic impression and the definitive diagnosis was 60%.


 Conclusions: Video consultation in gastroenterology is an effective alternative to the face-to-face visit, used equally in patients of both sexes, where dyspepsia is the main reason for consultation and diagnosis. During the first 3 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of video consultations increased 10 times. The main pathologies diagnosed were dyspepsia and hepatobiliary diseases.

Keywords: Video consultation, Telemedicine, Teleconsultation, Gastroenterology

Article Details

How to Cite
LORENZO, Modesto Varas; SERRA, Tania Navas; SERRA, César Morcillo. Utility of Video Consultation in Digestive Diseases. Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 8, n. 12, dec. 2020. ISSN 2375-1924. Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/2292>. Date accessed: 29 mar. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v8i12.2292.
Section
Research Articles

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