title: Auditing a new lung cancer service.
abstract: The Adelaide and Meath Hospital (AMNCH) is a new hospital, with the respiratory service established in 1999. We report on our experience with lung cancer in this short time. We conducted a retrospective chart audit, identifying patients from the Oncology Nurse patient list, of lung cancer cases diagnosed in 2001-2002. In 2001, 47 cases were diagnosed, with 71 cases diagnosed in 2002. Time to tissue diagnosis was 14.8, 2-46 (mean, range, one subject skewing the data) days. Diagnosis by tissue type was as follows: non-small cell carcinoma (NSCLC) n=92 (77.9%), small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) n=17 (14.4%), mesothelioma n=2 (17%), carcinoid n=1 (0.8%) and no tissue diagnosis n=6 (5.1%). Staging of NSCLC: stage 1a n=3 (3.2%), stage 1b n=6 (6.5%), stage 2a n=5 (5.4%), stage 2b n=2 (2.2%), stage 3a n=10 (10.9%), stage 3b n=22 (23.9%) and stage 4 n=44 (47.8%). Staging of SCLC: limited stage n=5 (29.4%), extensive stage n=12 (70.6%). Positive emission tomography (PET) was employed in the staging of 22 patients. In these patients PET up-staged the disease in 8 patients, and management was unchanged in 8 patients. We conclude that 1. the relatively new respiratory service in AMNCH is handling increasing numbers of lung cancer cases, 2. cases are diagnosed within an acceptable time-frame, 3. rate of tissue diagnosis is comparable to national figures, 4. most patients present with advanced disease and 5. PET is a useful imaging modality for detection of cancer spread in selected patients.
authors.affiliation: Respiratory Department, Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24. cullenjp@eircom.net
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Cullen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Glynn
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Murtagh
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hogan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jeffers
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lane
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D015994:Incidence; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D017678:Sex Distribution; D015996:Survival Rate