Integrating Family Caregiver Support Into a Gynecologic Oncology Practice: An ASCO Quality Training Program Project.

PURPOSE: A needs assessment of family caregivers (CGs) in our gynecologic oncology clinic found that 50% of CGs report nine or more distressing unmet needs, but only 19% of patients had a documented CG. We conducted an ASCO Quality Training Program project with the following aims: (1) to identify and document primary CGs for 85% of patients within two clinic visits of a gynecologic cancer diagnosis, and (2) assess the needs of and provide interventions to 75% of identified family CGs. METHODS: Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) methodology and tools endorsed by the ASCO Quality Training Program were used. An interprofessional team reviewed baseline data (ie, any mention of a family CG in the electronic health record visit note; CG distress survey), defined the problem and project aims, created process maps, and identified root causes of poor CG identification and documentation. Eight successive PDSA cycles were implemented between October 2018 and March 2019 to address identified root causes. RESULTS: For aim 1, CG identification increased from 19% at baseline to 57% postimplementation, whereas for aim 2, assessment improved from 28% at baseline to 60% postimplementation. Results fell somewhat short of initial goals, but they represent an important initial improvement in care. The core team has begun additional PDSA cycles to improve CG identification rates and extend the momentum of the project. CONCLUSION: This project demonstrated that a CG assessment protocol can be implemented in a large, academic, gynecologic oncology clinic. Additional efforts to integrate CG identification, assessment, and intervention more fully within the clinic and electronic health record are under way.

Defining Essential Elements of Caregiver Support in Gynecologic Cancers Using the Modified Delphi Method.

PURPOSE: Family caregivers are instrumental to patients with gynecologic cancer and can be deeply affected by the demands of caregiving. Our aims were as follows: (1) increase awareness of unmet needs of caregivers and (2) identify and prioritize the unmet needs of caregivers and essential support services to be provided in gynecologic cancer centers. METHODS: From July 2017 to June 2018, a 16-person steering committee and 40 stakeholders, including caregivers, patients, and clinicians, participated in a modified Delphi approach to generate, review, and prioritize a set of essential elements for caregiver support. Stakeholders prioritized caregiver needs and brainstormed, discussed, and prioritized essential support services to meet those needs, using three rounds of a consensus-building protocol. Basic descriptive statistics were performed to feed means and rankings back to stakeholders before each round. RESULTS: The top three caregiver needs were as follows: (1) to obtain information about their loved one's cancer, (2) how to provide support and comfort to their loved one, and (3) how to maintain their own emotional health and well-being. Fifteen essential elements of support for caregivers of patients with gynecologic cancer were identified and ranged from elements currently attainable (eg, information on managing symptoms, skilled-care training, a point person to help navigate the system) to more aspirational elements (eg, integrative services to promote caregiver well-being). CONCLUSION: To ensure comprehensive quality care, clinicians and health care providers should strive to provide caregivers with the identified essential elements of support. Health care settings should work to incorporate caregiver needs into cancer care delivery.

Caregiving Is a Marathon, Not a Road Race: Reenvisioning Caregiver Support Services in Gynecologic Oncology.

OBJECTIVES: As gynecologic cancer care shifts to the outpatient setting, caregivers are instrumental in helping patients navigate the demands of the disease and treatment. Through social media, we aimed to understand the needs of caregivers of patients with gynecologic cancers and support services necessary to meet these needs. METHODS: On January 10, 2018, a monthly Twitter discussion session was hosted by the GYNecologic Cancer Social Media community (handle @GYNCSM) using the hashtag #GYNCSM. Five topics regarding caregiver needs and support were discussed. Basic descriptive statistics, including means and frequencies of tweets, and a content analysis of the tweets were performed. RESULTS: Forty-six participants posted a total of 471 tweets, with 1.725 million impressions. Four main themes of caregiver needs emerged, including accepting help from others, a need to care for themselves as caregivers, increased access to information and resources, and a need for the health care team to communicate with caregivers. Themes relating to barriers to obtaining support services included practical barriers, a lack of awareness, negative emotions, and a need to do it all themselves. Participants suggested that caregiver support programs include convenient resources, caregiver peer support programs, support for the "work" of caregiving, and support to improve the emotional and physical health of the caregiver. CONCLUSIONS: Experts, patients, and caregivers effectively engaged in social media to identify a wide range of needs of caregivers of women with gynecologic cancers. Further research is needed to identify specific support services that could meet the priority needs of a broader network of caregivers.

Utilizing V-Y fasciocutaneous advancement flaps for vulvar reconstruction.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to analyze the outcomes of patients who underwent vulvectomy with subsequent V-Y fasciocutaneous flap reconstruction. METHODS: All medical records of all patients who underwent vulvectomies with V-Y fasciocutaneous flap reconstruction from January 2007 to June 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Patient clinical and surgical data, demographics, and outcomes were abstracted. RESULTS: Of the 27 patients, 42 flaps were transferred. A simple vulvectomy was performed in 8 (30%) patients, partial radical vulvectomy in 15 (56%), and radical vulvectomy in 4 (15%). The median area of defect was 30 cm2. Minor wound separations occurred in 9 patients (33%). Infectious complications occurred in 4 patients (15%); this included urinary tract infections in 2 (50%), postoperative fevers in 2 (50%), and sepsis in 1 (25%) patient with a UTI. There were no instances of flap necrosis, wound dehiscence, or wound infections. Black race was more likely to be associated with an infectious complication with 3 (75%) patients, compared to white race with 1 (4%) patient (p < .01). The presence of diabetes was more likely to be associated with an infectious complication in 2 (67%) patients, compared to 1 (4%) in non-diabetic patients (p < .01). No other significant association was found during analysis of demographics, medical comorbidities, vulvar pathology, or surgical factors affecting V-Y fasciocutaneous flap infectious complications or minor wound separations. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a V-Y fasciocutaneous advancement flap for vulvar reconstruction is safe and associated with mostly minor complications. Infectious complications were more frequently associated with diabetes, black race, and HIV.

Outpatient versus inpatient management for superimposed preeclampsia without severe features: a retrospective, multicenter study.

PURPOSE: To determine if women with preterm superimposed preeclampsia without severe features can be successfully and safely triaged to outpatient management. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a multicenter, retrospective, cohort study of singleton pregnancies with superimposed preeclampsia without severe features diagnosed before 37 weeks managed outpatient versus inpatient at Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, PA) and at University of Naples (Naples, Italy) from January 2008 to July 2015. The attending physician made the decision to manage outpatient or inpatient at his or her discretion. The primary outcome was composite maternal morbidity defined as development of at least one of the following: severe features, HELLP syndrome, placental abruption, eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, intensive care unit admission, or maternal death. Logistic regression, presented as adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with the 95% of confidence interval (CI) was performed. RESULTS: A total of 365 women with superimposed preeclampsia without severe features before 37 weeks were analyzed. 198 (54.2%) were managed outpatient, and 167 (45.8%) were managed inpatient. Women managed as outpatients had a similar rate of maternal morbidity compared to those managed as inpatients (36.4% versus 41.3%, aOR 0.82, 95%CI 0.55-1.17). Fetuses from women in the outpatient group had a significantly lower risk of small for gestational age (17.7% versus 29.3%; aOR 0.53, 95%CI 0.30-0.84), and lower risk of admission to neonatal intensive care unit (40.4% versus 47.9%; aOR 0.72, 95%CI 0.39-0.95) compared to women managed as inpatients. CONCLUSIONS: Low risk women with superimposed preeclampsia without severe features can be triaged to outpatient management without increased maternal morbidity.

Incidental leiomyosarcoma found at the time of cesarean hysterectomy for morbidly adherent placenta.

BACKGROUND: Incidental leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a rare diagnosis in pregnancy or in the puerperium. To our knowledge, this is the first case reported in the literature of incidental LMS after cesarean hysterectomy for morbidly adherent placenta. CASE: We present a case of a cesarean hysterectomy performed for a suspected morbidly adherent placenta in a patient with three prior cesarean deliveries, an anterior placenta previa and a fundal fibroid. Subsequent pathology identified a LMS on final specimen. The patient declined bilateral oophorectomy and removal of her remaining cervix. No chemotherapy or radiation was given for her presumed stage IB disease. CONCLUSION: An incidental finding of a LMS is infrequent; the risk of recurrence is > 50% even if the sarcoma is removed in its entirety.