The Regional Infectious Diseases Unit (RIDU) offers specialist inpatient and outpatient management of complex infection in adults. This includes management of blood born viruses (HIV, HBV and HCV), non-pulmonary tuberculosis, and review of returning travellers or migrants with ongoing health concerns related to their travel.
Depending on epidemiology, and after exclusion of non-infective causes, RIDU offers investigation of patients with fever of unknown origin or ongoing symptoms suggestive of infection, such as night sweats, weight loss and lymphadenopathy.
RIDU oversees the NHS Lothian Travel Clinics which provide a specialist pre-travel health service. Locations and opening times can be found on the NHS Lothian Travel Clinic website. Patients can purchase all necessary vaccines and malaria prophylaxis at these clinics as well as receive up-to-date travel advice. Patients can self-refer to this service, but attendance is by appointment only.
C.M & N.B 06-02-24
Who to refer:
It is appropriate to refer those with:
- Pyrexia of unknown origin, after consideration of non-infective causes
- Ongoing symptoms of infection, such as night sweats, weight loss and lymphadenopathy, following exclusion of non-infective causes
- Active blood-borne viral infection
- Fever or other infective symptoms following travel
- Suspected or confirmed non-pulmonary tuberculosis (pulmonary TB should be referred to Respiratory Medicine)
- Mycobacterial infection in people living with HIV
- Unexplained eosinophilia, where parasitic infection is suspected
- Specific conditions outlined in these pages
Please note, this list is not exhaustive and the RIDU team is happy to provide advice or review for any person where complex or recurrent infection is suspected.
Who not to refer:
Do not refer patients:
- with ME/chronic fatigue syndrome. RIDU does not offer a service for the diagnosis or management of ME-CFS. Those who meet the diagnostic criteria can be referred directly for rehabilitation. If there are diagnostic uncertainties, please refer to the specialist most aligned to the clinical system involved, and only refer to Infectious Diseases where ongoing symptoms are suggestive of active infection.
- who are stable and require intravenous antibiotic therapy for skin and soft tissue infection or multi-drug resistant urinary tract infections – please refer directly to OPAT.
- with recurrent UTIs, not requiring immediate intravenous therapy via OPAT. Please consider the advice available on the Urology Recurrent UTIs page and refer to Urology where indicated.
- who request unconventional treatments not currently recommended in the NHS or to discuss the results of unconventional or non-UK accredited tests carried out in the private sector or abroad.
How to refer:
In general, non-urgent ID advice and outpatient review should be requested via SCI Gateway.
Urgent ID advice is available by contacting the on-call Infectious Diseases doctor via WGH switchboard.
The Infectious Diseases email inbox should not be used by primary care to seek advice – please use SCI Gateway.
