Clinicians need to recognize the indicators of low health literacy and utilize the available assessment tools. To improve clinician-patient communication, interventions must be tailored to the patients' literacy level.
Hyperviscosity syndrome can develop in patients with plasma cell dyscrasias, particularly Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM). Occurring in 10%-30% of patients with hyperviscosity syndrome, WM is an uncommon B-cell proliferative disorder characterized by bone marrow infiltration and production of monoclonal immunoglobulin M. The elevated blood viscosity in WM is the result of increased circulating serum immunoglobulin M. Because hyperviscosity syndrome can be lethal, it must be recognized and managed early. Hyperviscosity syndrome has a triad presentation: vision changes, neurologic abnormalities, and bleeding. Treatment includes hydration with diuresis, plasmapheresis, and control of the underlying disease. The current treatment for WM is chemotherapy (i.e., alkylating agents and nucleoside analogs) and the monoclonal antibody rituximab. Although hyperviscosity syndrome is not one of the most common conditions, when it does occur, oncology nurses play a critical role in patients' assessment and care.
271 Background: Patient reported outcomes (PRO) can be valuable clinical tools to embed the voice of patients into the clinical experience. The use of PROs in the context of cancer survivorship is relatively under-explored. Methods: Disease-specific modules of the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) PRO were integrated into the electronic health record (EHR), and distributed 3-7 days prior to survivorship clinic visits through the patients’ EHR portal. Patients with virtual visits were called 24 hours prior, instructed how to video link, and how to complete the MDASI PRO. For patients who completed the PRO electronically, results were reviewed during clinic visit. High symptom alerts (> = 7) for four key symptoms were established and triggered an automatic message to care teams for review. Results: From Sept 1, 2020 – August 31, 2021, 2,196 PRO surveys were sent to patients with 1,268 submitting results (57.74%) (see Table). Within specific clinics, the submission rates varied greatly between in-person and virtual appointments (33% vs. 83%). Submission rates varied by clinics, with responses ranging from 28.57% - 73.59%. Clinics with higher overall rates had a higher proportion of virtual visits. Conclusions: Electronic distribution of PROs can be successfully integrated into long term survivorship clinic visits. Virtual visits had overall much higher PRO response rates, due to pre-visit workflows which encouraged the completion of PROs. We conclude that patient education and real time support is needed to facilitate patients’ completion of PRO surveys through the electronic portal.[Table: see text]
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