Adoption of multiple strategies to reduce the rate of marker detachment during radiotherapy in patients with cancer

Abstract

Background: In the process of radiation therapy, the patient’s body surface needs to be marked as the basis for treatment positioning. The positioning mark may fade or disappear during the treatment because of various factors, which will not only affect the accuracy of the treatment, but also increase the time and cost of medical treatment if the mark needs to be re-established. For patients, it can reduce the time spent on the treatment table and decrease the anxiety level associated with waiting for treatment. Purpose: For family members: To shorten the time spent in treatment and reduce the disturbance of family members accompanying the examination. For patients: To increase the patient’s satisfaction with the assistance of the radiation oncology staff in completing treatment. For hospitals: To reduce the cost of labor and materials. Methods: From January to June, the main causes of the disappearance or fading of surface markers in patients treated with radiation therapy were identified. Patients who dropped out of the treatment were annotated on the Medical System for Radiation Oncology (MOSAIQ), to keep track of them. We used our in-house-designedradiotherapy red and green light markers to distinguish individual measures after the provision of the initial nursing care to new patients, added a homemade health education leaflet to collect data via actual observation, and counted the disappearance or fading of patients’ body markers. The effectiveness of the dropout was analyzed, and the improvement measures to reduce dropout were incorporated into the clinical care and health education routine, to improve the accuracy of treatment and ensure the quality and safety of patient treatment. Conclusions: Marker repositioning on the treatment table decreased significantly after the improvement, from 82 instances totaling 1,230 min (average,102.5 min/month) to seven instances totaling 70 min (average, 23.4 min/month). Moreover, the anxiety level while waiting for treatment decreased from 5 points to 3 points (Beck Anxiety Inventory). In the future, the improvement plan can be incorporated into the routine process of radiation oncology, which will not only reduce the time and cost of medical treatment, but also improve its accuracy, to ensure the quality and safety of patient treatment. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06132295