Referral characteristics and wait times for uveitis consultation at academic tertiary care centres in Toronto

To assess the characteristics of referrals to academic uveitis tertiary care centres in Toronto and identify determinants of wait time for consultation. Retrospective case series. Consecutive new uveitis referrals received at 5 University of Toronto-affiliated uveitis tertiary care centres, between February 2016 and November 2016, were included. A total of 159 new uveitis referrals were received from academic (69%) and community (31%) providers. A large proportion of referrals were sent by comprehensive ophthalmologists (33%) and retina specialists (38%). Disease was bilateral in 46% of cases, had an acute onset in 43% of cases, and was classified as posterior uveitis in 38% of cases. Disease etiology at the time of referral was unknown in 55% of cases. Only 43% of all referrals included a basic uveitis workup, and patients who had undergone diagnostic testing had a shorter wait time for consultation (41 ± 43 vs. 59 ± 54 days, p = 0.033). Acute uveitis had a shorter wait time compared with recurrent and chronic uveitis (33 ± 42 vs. 66 ± 44 and 59 ± 58 days, p < 0.001). Referrals triaged as urgent had significantly shorter wait times compared with referrals triaged as semiurgent or elective (7 ± 10 vs. 54 ± 43 and 88 ± 59, p < 0.001). Referrals to academic uveitis tertiary care centres in Toronto are often acute, bilateral cases affecting the posterior segment without a known etiology. Approximately half of referrals include no diagnostic workup, which may delay diagnosis for patients and lengthen wait times for consultation. We provide a set of recommendations for investigations that should be included in uveitis referrals. Évaluer les caractéristiques des patients qui sont adressés à des centres de soins tertiaires universitaires spécialisés dans le traitement de l’uvéite à Toronto et définir les facteurs qui influent sur le délai de consultation. Série de cas rétrospective. On a inclus des patients consécutifs souffrant d’uvéite nouvellement adressés à 5 centres de soins tertiaires spécialisés dans le traitement de l’uvéite affiliés à l’Université de Toronto entre février et novembre 2016. Un total de 159 nouveaux cas d’uvéite ont été adressés par des professionnels de la santé du milieu universitaire (69 %) et de la collectivité (31 %). Une importante proportion de ces patients avaient été adressés par des spécialistes en ophtalmologie complète (33 %) et des rétinologues (38 %). L’atteinte était bilatérale dans 46 % des cas; 43 % des sujets avaient subi