Domain I of the SFN-PSQ: Going Home.

IntroductionSmall fiber neuropathy (SFN) is a common cause of neuropathic pain in peripheral neuropathies. Good accessibility of diagnostics and treatment is necessary for an accurate diagnosis and treatment of SFN. Evidence is lacking on the quality performance of the diagnostic SFN service in the Netherlands. Our aim was to determine the patient satisfaction and -accessibility of the diagnostic SFN service, and to identify areas for improvement.MethodsIn a single-center, prospective, survey-based cohort study, 100 visiting patients were asked to fill in the SFN patient satisfaction questionnaire (SFN-PSQ), with 10 domains and 51 items. Cut-off point for improvement was defined as ≥ 25% dissatisfaction on an item. A chi-square test and linear regression analyses was used for significant differences and associations of patient satisfaction.ResultsFrom November 2020 to May 2021, 98 patients with SFN-related complaints filled in the online SFN-PSQ within 20 minutes. In 84% of the patients SFN was confirmed, average age was 55.1 (52.5–57.8) years and 67% was female. High satisfaction was seen in the domains ‘Waiting List Period’, Chest X-ray’, ‘Consultation with the Doctor or Nurse Practitioner (NP)’, ‘Separate Consultation with the Doctor or NP about Psychological Symptoms’, and ‘General’ of the SFN service. Overall average patient satisfaction score was 8.7 (IQR 8–10) on a 1-to-10 rating scale. Main area for improvement was shortening the 8-week period for receiving the results of the diagnostic testing (p ConclusionA good reflection of the high patient satisfaction and -accessibility of the SFN-service is shown, with important points for improvement. These results could help hospitals widely to optimize the logistic and diagnostic pathway of SFN analysis, benchmarking patient satisfaction results among the hospitals, and to improve the quality of care of comparable SFN services.引言 小纤维神经病（Small fiber neuropathy, SFN）是周围神经病引发神经性疼痛的常见病因。对SFN实施精准诊断与治疗，有赖于诊断及治疗服务的良好可及性。目前荷兰地区关于SFN诊断服务质量表现的相关研究证据仍较为匮乏。本研究旨在评估荷兰SFN诊断服务的患者满意度与可及性，并明确可优化的改进方向。 方法 本研究为单中心前瞻性队列调查研究，共招募100名就诊患者填写SFN患者满意度问卷（SFN patient satisfaction questionnaire, SFN-PSQ），该问卷包含10个维度与51个条目。本研究将单项满意度评分低于25%定为需要改进的临界阈值。采用卡方检验与线性回归分析，以检验患者满意度的组间差异及相关关联。 结果 2020年11月至2021年5月期间，共计98名存在SFN相关症状的患者在20分钟内完成了线上SFN-PSQ填写。其中84%的患者最终确诊为SFN，受试者平均年龄为55.1岁（四分位间距52.5–57.8），女性占比67%。在SFN服务的「等待周期」「胸部X线检查」「与医生或执业护士（Nurse Practitioner, NP）问诊」「单独针对心理症状与医生或NP进行咨询」以及「整体维度」中，患者满意度较高。基于1至10分的评分量表，患者总体平均满意度得分为8.7分（四分位间距8–10）。最亟待改进的方向为缩短诊断检测结果的8周等待周期（原文本此处统计标注存在缺失）。 结论 本研究结果充分体现了SFN诊断服务较高的患者满意度与可及性，同时也明确了亟待优化的关键方向。上述结果可帮助各医院进一步优化SFN分析的流程与诊断路径，开展医院间患者满意度结果的基准比对，并提升同类SFN服务的医疗质量。