Development of clinical practice guidelines and primary care referral pathways for management of otorhinolaryngological conditions in Pakistan.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Diseases of the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) account for a significant portion of a primary care physician's practice in Pakistan, a South Asian lower-middle income country. This increasing burden demands comprehensive clinical practice guidelines and primary care clinical referral algorithms to be devised so that general physicians can adequately provide standardized primary health care and prevent needless specialist ENT referrals.

Methods

We selected eight guidelines regarding epistaxis, neck masses, hearing loss, Meniere's disease, dysphonia, allergic rhinitis, acute otitis externa, and rhinosinusitis from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation as the source guidelines and employed the GRADE-ADOLOPMENT approach to contextualize

SUBMITTER: Pervez A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11881372 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature