Improving quality of care by obtaining patient-reported outcomes (PRO)-CTCAE chemotoxicities using tablet technology in daycare (DC) waiting rooms.

Abstract

165 Background: In a busy chemo DC, any efficient means of tracking important chemotoxicities can improve quality of care. The study goal was to evaluate whether tablet technology available in a DC waiting room is able to capture prevalent and severe toxicities associated with chemotherapy using the patient reported outcome (PRO) - common toxicity criteria for adverse events (CTCAE). Methods: This cross-sectional PRO-CTCAE study of 160 adult solid/hematologic cancer outpatients of all stages, who were undergoing chemotherapy (CT), focused on common chemotoxicities captured using touchscreen tablets in the DC waiting room of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (Toronto, CA). Individual health scores from the EQ-5D VAS tool and the prevalence of AEs experienced by cancer patients within the past seven days were captured. Symptoms that were listed as moderate to very severe were considered significant. Results: Across a wide range of tumours and patients on intravenous CT, the median age (range) was 56 (19-88) years; 38% were males.Patients reported a median (range) health score (100 = best health possible, 0 = worst) of 70 (4-100). The severity offiveprevalent, key side-effects of CT were tabulated (Table). 59% of patients felt their fatigue interfered significantly with their daily activities, and 30% felt decreased appetite interfered significantly. 32% experienced nausea occasionally to almost constantly. Conclusions: The common symptoms of CT were captured FEASIBLY, and found to be highly prevalent in this CT-treated population. Capturing additional symptom prevalence outside of the 7-day time frame may be important from a clinical standpoint. Administration of PRO-CTCAE instrument through tablet technology may be an excellent method to help collect such data systematically and reliably. Updated data on 300 patients will be presented at the meeting. [Table: see text]

Routine Surveillance of Chemotherapy Toxicities in Cancer Patients Using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE)

“…Chemotherapy related symptomatic side effects are prevalent in a substantial proportion of patients receiving treatment, with the most prevalent being fatigue (59-91%), decreased appetite (42-62%), nausea (28-60%), vomiting (17-26%), and oral mucositis (17-40%) [4,[8][9][10][11]. Distressing symptoms during treatment interfere with daily activities and may adversely affect quality of life [12][13][14][15].…”