SAT0314 To describe and characterise the patient group defined as complex in a joint rheumatology/dermatology clinic (PAIDER)

Objectives To describe and characterise the patient group defined as complex in a joint Rheumatology/Dermatology clinic (PAIDER). Methods We performed a retrospective chart review of patients evaluated between May 2012 and November 2017 at a weekly joint Rheumatology/Dermatology clinic at Hospital de Sant Pau (Autonomous University of Barcelona), Spain. We reviewed the medical records for demographic information, source of referral, complexity, cardiovascular risk factors and the number of visits. Complexity or complex patient was defined by at least one of the following characteristics: liver disease, neoplastic disease, psychiatric disorders, communication difficulties, adverse drug reactions to previous treatment, or paradoxical effects of biological therapy. The degree of complexity was a number (from 1 to 6) resulting from the sum of the previous characteristics. A descriptive analysis was carried out and the correlation between variables was studied through the application of nonparametric tests. The statistical package SPSS v. 21 was used to analyse the data. Results 494 patients were evaluated (52% women) with a total of 1110 visits. The mean age was 53 years. Patients were referred from Rheumatology, Dermatology, primary care physicians and other specialties in 47%, 40%, 6.5% and 5.5% of cases, respectively. The average number of visits per patient was 2.25. 164 patients (33%) were defined as complex with a total of 546 visits. 48.8% were women. The mean age was 55 years. They were referred from Rheumatology, Dermatology, primary care physicians and other specialties in 50.6%, 35.4%, 7.3% and 6.7% of cases, respectively. The mean number of following-up visits for the complex patients was 3.33. The features that defined complexity and the number of visits required are shown in table 1. The number of visits according to the degree of complexity is shown in table 2. Conclusions A third of the patients visited in our joint clinic were defined as complex, although the great majority showed a low level of complexity. Of all the features used to define complexity, only a few were associated with a greater number of visits. However, the degree of complexity of the patients was associated with an increased number of visits. Disclosure of Interest None declared