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.

  • severe genital infection e.g. Fournier’s gangrene/epididymo-orchitis
  • severe haematuria
  • urinary tract sepsis/severe infection with urinary obstruction

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

For clinical advice, please telephone the relevant specialty service.

National Continence Helpline

Central Adelaide Local Health Network

Northern Adelaide Local Health Network 

Southern Adelaide Local Health Network

Exclusions

  • recurrent/persistent urinary tract infections (UTIs) less than 3 presentations per year in women

Triage categories

Category 1 (appointment clinically indicated within 30 days)

  • abnormal urinary tract imaging (and /or ultrasound or computed tomography scan) confirming anatomical or pathological process e.g.
    • hydronephrosis
    • significantly elevated post-void residual (PVR) volumes
    • stones
    • soft tissue lesion (concern for malignancy)

Category 2 (appointment clinically indicated within 90 days)

  • any confirmed UTI in men
  • greater than 3 UTIs in women in a 12 month period
  • severe urinary tract sepsis with recent history of hospital admission in less than 3 months
  • suspected genitourinary fistula

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.

  • relevant past medical/surgical history
  • current medications, allergies
  • history of presenting complaint including:
    • onset
    • duration
    • concerning features
  • contrast computed tomography (CT) urogram (pre and post intravenous contrast + delayed pyelograms) unless contraindicated

Pathology

  • complete blood examination (CBE)
  • electrolytes, urea and creatinine (EUC)
  • liver function test (LFT)
  • fasting glucose (fasting BSL)
  • thyroid function tests (TFTs)
  • estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)
  • coagulation studies (Coags)
  • prostate-specific antigen (PSA)
  • urine culture (MCS)
  • sexually active people need a sexually transmitted infection (STI) screen, including chlamydia and gonorrhoea which requires:
    • endocervical/penile swab for culture and
    • endocervical/penile polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab or urine sample

Additional information to assist triage categorisation

  • urine cytology, may help to prioritise referral

Clinical management advice

Cranberry juice has demonstrated effectiveness in decreasing the incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) among females, and should be considered as part of preventive care.

When managing benign prostatism in males, anti-cholinergic and beta3-adrenergic agonist therapy should be considered with the following symptoms:

  • difficulty voiding
  • nocturnal incontinence
  • overactive bladder
  • significant post-residual volumes

Clinical resources

Consumer resources

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.