Ετικέτες

Τετάρτη 8 Σεπτεμβρίου 2021

Quality improvement intervention to reduce time to postoperative radiation in head and neck free flap patients

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader

Abstract

Background

Best-practice guidelines for head and neck cancer patients advise postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) initiation within 6 weeks of surgery. We report our institutional experience improving timeliness of adjuvant radiation in free-flap patients.

Methods

Thirty-nine patients met inclusion criteria in the 2017–2019 study period. We divided into "Early" (n = 19) and "Late" (n = 20) time-period groups to compare performance over time. The primary endpoint was time to PORT initiation, with success defined as <6 weeks.

Results

The number of patients achieving timely PORT improved from 10.5% in the Early group to 50.0% in the Late group (p = 0.014). Patients undergoing concurrent adjuvant chemoradiation were more likely to meet the PORT target in the Late group (p = 0.012).

Conclusions

We ascribe this quality improvement in free-flap patients to increased communication among multidisciplinary care teams, proactive consultation referrals, and a targeted patient-navigator intervention. Though work is needed to further improve performance, insight gained from our experience may benefit other teams.

View on the web

Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:

Δημοσίευση σχολίου

Αναζήτηση αυτού του ιστολογίου