Medical visits for chemotherapy and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia: a survey of the impact on patient time and activities.
BACKGROUND
Patients with cancer must make frequent visits to the clinic not only for chemotherapy but also for the management of treatment-related adverse effects. Neutropenia, the most common dose-limiting toxicity of myelosuppressive chemotherapy, has substantial clinical and economic consequences. Colony-stimulating factors such as filgrastim and pegfilgrastim can reduce the incidence of neutropenia, but the clinic visits for these treatments can disrupt patients' routines and activities.


METHODS
We surveyed patients to assess how clinic visits for treatment with chemotherapy and the management of neutropenia affect their time and activities.


RESULTS
The mean amounts of time affected by these visits ranged from approximately 109 hours (hospitalization for neutropenia) and 8 hours (physician and chemotherapy) to less than 3 hours (laboratory and treatment with filgrastim or pegfilgrastim). The visits for filgrastim or pegfilgrastim were comparable in length, but treatment with filgrastim requires several visits per chemotherapy cycle and treatment with pegfilgrastim requires only 1 visit.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides useful information for future modelling of additional factors such as disease status and chemotherapy schedule and provides information that should be considered in managing chemotherapy-induced neutropenia.
Fortner
Barry V
BV
The West Clinic, 100 N, Humphreys Blvd, Memphis, TN 38120, USA. bfortner@sosacorn.com
Tauer
Kurt
K
Zhu
Ling
L
Okon
Theodore A
TA
Moore
Kelley
K
Templeton
Davis
D
Schwartzberg
Lee
L
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D000069585:Filgrastim; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000188:drug therapy; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D011788:Quality of Life; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D013997:Time Factors
D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor; C455861:pegfilgrastim; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D000069585:Filgrastim