Home-Based Management of Patients With Cancer Experiencing Treatment-Induced Toxicities With a Nurse-Led Telephone Triage (the NTT Study).

PURPOSE: Novel organization models ensure early management of treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) of new anticancer drugs. The aim of this prospective observational study was to evaluate the impact of the introduction of a nurse-led telephone triage (NTT) in reducing hospitalization of patients with cancer (CPs). PATIENTS AND METHODS: CPs on active medical treatment were educated to call the NTT in case of symptoms or TRAEs. Assessment of TRAEs was performed by trained oncology nurses according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grading scales and subsequent actions were taken according to the severity of the events. The primary end point of the study was to compare the rate of hospitalization of CPs on anticancer treatment after the introduction of NTT with that of the 2017-2018 period. RESULTS: From September 2018 to September 2019, a total of 1,075 patients received systemic anticancer treatment (v 936 patients in the same 2017-2018 period). Total consultations at NTT were 429 and 581 TRAEs were reported. Notably, 117 patients reported more than one TRAE. Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events were graded as G1 (237, 40.8%), G2 (231, 39.8%), or G3-4 (113, 19.4%). In the observation period, 109 CPs on treatment were hospitalized versus 138 in the 2017-2018 period with a normalized hospitalization rate of 10.1% versus 14.7% (P = .002 chi-square) with a reduction in normalized number of hospitalization of 44 and an estimated cost savings of 345,246 euros. CONCLUSION: The implementation of the NTT system in the clinical practice may help reducing the rates of hospitalization through the emergency room of CPs receiving modern medical treatments.

The effect of management models on thromboembolic and bleeding rates in anticoagulated patients: an ecological study.

The primary study objective is to compare the outcomes of patients taking oral anticoagulant medications in two distinct populations treated according to different management models (comprehensive vs. usual care). (Design: regional prospective cohort study; setting: hospital admission data from two regions). Eligible partecipants were patients taking oral anticoagulant drugs (vitamin K antagonist or direct oral anticoagulants), residents in the Vicenza and Cremona districts from February 1st, 2016 to June 30th, 2017. Patients were identified by accessing the administrative databases of patient drug prescriptions. The primary study outcome was admission to the Emergency Department for stroke, systemic arterial embolism, recurrence of venous thromboembolism or major bleeding. The study evaluated outcomes in 14,226 patients taking oral anticoagulants, of whom 6725 being followed in Cremona with a comprehensive management model. There were 19 and 45 thromboembolic events over 6205 and 6530 patient-years in the Cremona and Vicenza cohort, respectively (IRR 0.44, 95% CI 0.24-0.77). The reduction of events in the Cremona cohort was almost entirely explained by a decrease of events in patients taking VKA (IRR 0.41, 95% CI 0.20-0.78) but not DOACs (IRR 1.08, 95% CI 0.25-5.24). The rate of major bleeding was non-significantly higher in Cremona than in Vicenza (IRI 1.32; 95% CI 0.74-2.40). Across the two cohorts, the risk of bleeding was lower in patients being treated with DOACs rather than warfarin (10/4574 vs. 42/8161 event/person-years, respectively, IRR 0.42 95% CI 0.19-0.86). We conclude that a comprehensive management model providing centralized dose prescription and follow-up may significantly reduce the rate of thromboembolic complications, without substantially increasing the number of bleeding complications. Patients treated with direct oral anticoagulants appear to have a rate of thromboembolic complications comparable to VKA patients under the best management model, with a reduction of major bleeding.

Impact of residual pulmonary obstruction on the long-term outcome of patients with pulmonary embolism.

The impact of residual pulmonary obstruction on the outcome of patients with pulmonary embolism is uncertain.We recruited 647 consecutive symptomatic patients with a first episode of pulmonary embolism, with or without concomitant deep venous thrombosis. They received conventional anticoagulation, were assessed for residual pulmonary obstruction through perfusion lung scanning after 6 months and then were followed up for up to 3 years. Recurrent venous thromboembolism and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension were assessed according to widely accepted criteria.Residual pulmonary obstruction was detected in 324 patients (50.1%, 95% CI 46.2-54.0%). Patients with residual pulmonary obstruction were more likely to be older and to have an unprovoked episode. After a 3-year follow-up, recurrent venous thromboembolism and/or chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension developed in 34 out of the 324 patients (10.5%) with residual pulmonary obstruction and in 15 out of the 323 patients (4.6%) without residual pulmonary obstruction, leading to an adjusted hazard ratio of 2.26 (95% CI 1.23-4.16).Residual pulmonary obstruction, as detected with perfusion lung scanning at 6 months after a first episode of pulmonary embolism, is an independent predictor of recurrent venous thromboembolism and/or chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.