Referral Pathways for Children with Atopic Diseases in Denmark

Abstract

Atopic diseases such as atopic dermatitis, food allergy, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and/or asthma are common. In Denmark, however, there are multiple referral pathways for these diseases in the healthcare system and they are poorly understood. To describe how children with atopic diseases navigate their way through the Danish healthcare system, a questionnaire was distributed to children aged ≤ 17 years, who were being treated for atopic diseases between August 2020 and June 2021, either by a practising specialist or a hospital department, in the Capital Region of Denmark. A total of 279 children completed the questionnaire and most were referred to a specialist or to a hospital by their general practitioner. No “common track” to hospital existed for patients with ≥ 3 atopic diseases. These patients were more often referred to a hospital compared with children with 2 atopic diseases or fewer (odds ratio [OR] 3.79; 95% CI 2.07–7.24). The primary determinants for hospital treatment were food allergy (OR 4.69; 95% CI 2.07–10.61) and asthma (OR 2.58; 95% CI 1.18–5.63). In conclusion, children with multiple atopic diseases were more likely to be referred to hospital departments than to practising specialists, mainly due to food allergies.