Referral to emergency

If any of the following are present or suspected, please refer the patient to the emergency department (via ambulance if necessary) or seek emergent medical advice if in a remote region.

  • pulmonary vasculitis with respiratory compromise, haemoptysis
  • acute systemic vasculitis
  • fever, weight loss, very high inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein > 50mg/L)
  • vascular occlusion leading to ischaemia of limbs or organs in the presence of systemic inflammation
  • acute onset neuropathy (mononeuritis)

Please contact the on-call registrar to discuss your concerns prior to referral.

For clinical advice, please telephone the relevant specialty service.

Central Adelaide Local Health Network

Southern Adelaide Local Health Network

Inclusions

  • granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA)
  • eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA)
  • microscopic polyangiitis
  • polymyositis, dermatomyositis
  • immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) related disease

Exclusions

  • patients under 17 years old
  • patients being treated for same condition at other hospital
  • predominant renal disease, refer to Nephrology
  • cutaneous vasculitis, refer to Dermatology

Triage categories

Category 1 (appointment clinically indicated within 30 days)

  • acute systemic vasculitis
  • fever, weight loss, very high inflammatory markers C-reactive protein > 50mg/L
  • pulmonary vasculitis with respiratory compromise, haemoptysis
  • myositis with new dysphagia
  • diagnostic dilemmas with suspected vasculitis or myositis

Category 2 (appointment clinically indicated within 90 days)

  • new immune mediated inflammatory disease already started on immunosuppression

Category 3 (appointment clinically indicated within 365 days)

  • nil

Essential referral information

Completion required before first appointment to ensure patients are ready for care. Please indicate in the referral if the patient is unable to access mandatory tests or investigations as they incur a cost or are unavailable locally.

  • symptom profile and duration, including:
    • fever or weight loss
    • any major organ systems involved, see ‘referral to emergency’
    • treatment or specialist review to date
  • C-reactive protein (CRP)
  • erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
  • electrolytes, urea and creatinine (EUC)
  • full blood count (FBC)
  • liver function tests (LFTs)
  • Depending on clinical phenotype, further tests are recommended:
    • Vasculitis: antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), myeloperoxidase antibodies (MPO), proteinase 3 antibodies (PR3)
    • Myositis: creatine kinase (CK)
    • Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): anti-double stranded DNA (dsDNA), antinuclear antibody (ANA), extractable nuclear antigen (ENA), antiphospholipid syndrome (APLS) screen, complement levels 3 and 4
    • Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4RD): IgG subclasses (IgG4), histology
    • Sarcoidosis: angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), histology, calcium, vitamin D
  • urinalysis, spun sediment for red cell casts

Reason for request

  • to establish a diagnosis
  • for treatment or intervention
  • for advice and management
  • for specialist to take over management
  • for a specified test/investigation the General Practitioner cannot order
  • for other reason (e.g. rapidly accelerating disease progression)
  • transfer of care from another tertiary service
  • clinical judgement indicates a referral for specialist review is necessary.

Patient demographic details

  • full name, including aliases
  • date of birth
  • residential and postal address
  • telephone contact number/s – home, mobile and alternative
  • Medicare number, where eligible
  • name of the parent or caregiver, if appropriate
  • preferred language and interpreter requirements
  • identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

Clinical modifiers

  • impact on employment
  • impact on education
  • impact on home
  • impact on activities of daily living
  • impact on ability to care for others
  • impact on personal frailty or safety
  • identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

Other relevant information

  • Willingness to have surgery, where surgery is a likely intervention.
  • Choice to be treated as a public or private patient.
  • Compensable status, e.g. DVA, Work Cover, Motor Vehicle Insurance, etc.
  • Relevant social history, including identifying if you feel your patient is from a vulnerable population, under guardianship/out-of-home care arrangements and/or requires a third party to receive correspondence on their behalf.
  • Triage of a specialist outpatient referral is based on clinical decision making to allocate an appropriate urgency categorisation.
  • Where appropriate and where available, the referral may be streamed to an associated public allied health and/or nursing service. Access to some specific services may include initial assessment and management by associated public allied health and/or nursing, which may either facilitate or negate the need to see the public medical specialist.
  • A change in patient circumstance (such as condition deteriorating or pregnancy) may affect the urgency categorisation and should be communicated as soon as possible.
  • All new referrals will be triaged by a consultant and appointment times scheduled according to clinical urgency.