Analysis of night-time and weekend otolaryngology service.

The night-time and weekend otolaryngology service provided to an urban population slightly in excess of half a million people in analysed over a six month period. During this time, 147 calls were received, of which 116 (79%) required a hospital visit by the Registrar-on-call. Children accounted for 39% of patients seen and adults 61%. The problems encountered were in keeping with traditional perceptions of otolaryngology. The most common diagnosis necessitating a hospital visit was a suspected foreign body in the upper aerodigestive tract (39 cases), followed by epistaxis (28 cases) and some form of ear sepsis (12 cases). There was a noticeable lack of primary involvement in such areas as facial and neck trauma.