Guidelines for Management of Urgent Symptoms in Patients with Cholangiocarcinoma and Biliary Stents or Catheters Using the Modified RAND/UCLA Delphi Process
Background: Patients with cholangiocarcinoma often have indwelling biliary stents or catheters which are prone to obstructions and/or infections; studies show that 20–40% present with fever and/or jaundice requiring urgent treatment in the outpatient setting for which there are no uniform guidelines. The goal was to develop an expert panel consensus on this topic using the modified RAND/UCLA Delphi process to rate treatment appropriateness. Methods: Thirteen expert physicians from relevant specialties, geography, and practice settings were recruited for the panel. Patient scenarios were developed and panelists rated the therapies before and after a face-to-face discussion. The appropriateness of various therapies was rated on a scale from 1–9 and classified as appropriate, inappropriate, or uncertain. Scenarios with greater than 2 (>2) ratings of 1–3 (inappropriate) and greater than 2 (>2) ratings of 7–9 (appropriate) were considered to have disagreement and were not assigned an appropriateness rating. Results: Panelists were from all US regions and the UK (8%) and had practiced for a mean 16.5 years (4–33 years). Panelists rated 480 scenarios before the meeting and re-rated 288 of the clinical scenarios after the meeting. The panelists agreed that ongoing treatment with chemotherapy did not influence decision-making and, therefore, 192 scenarios were excluded from the final list. Disagreement decreased from 37.5% before to 10.4% after the meeting. Consensus on stent/tube manipulation and inpatient antibiotic therapy was obtained and summarized in patients as “appropriate” or “maybe appropriate” based on a patient’s bilirubin level at presentation. Conclusions: The Delphi process produced consensus guidelines to fill an unmet need in the urgent management of ascending cholangitis in patients with cholangiocarcinoma.
Guidelines for management of urgent symptoms in cholangiocarcinoma (CC) patients (pts) with biliary stents or catheters using the modified RAND/UCLA Delphi process.
e15641 Background: CC pts with biliary stents or catheters are prone to have obstruction/infection and studies show 20-40% present with fever/or jaundice requiring urgent treatment for which there is no uniform guideline. We aimed to develop an expert panel consensus on this topic using the modified RAND/UCLA Delphi process to rate treatment appropriateness. Methods: We recruited 13 physician experts from relevant specialty, geography, and practice settings. Patient scenarios were developed and panelists rated the therapies before and after a face-to-face discussion. The appropriateness of various therapies was rated on a 1-9 scale and classified as appropriate, inappropriate, or uncertain. Scenarios with > 2 ratings of 1-3 (inappropriate) and > 2 ratings of 7-9 (appropriate) were considered to have disagreement and were not assigned an appropriateness rating. Results: Panelists were from all US regions (92%) and the UK (8%); had practiced for a mean 16.5 years (4-33 years). Panelists rated 480 scenarios before the meeting, but re-rated only 288 clinical scenarios as they felt that ongoing treatment with chemotherapy did not influence decision-making. Disagreement decreased from 37.5% before the meeting to 10.4% after. Consensus statements are summarized in the table below. Conclusions: The Delphi process produced consensus guidelines to fill an unmet need in urgent management of ascending cholangitis in pts with CC. (Support: The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation). [Table: see text]
Outcomes of Patients With Cirrhosis Undergoing Orthopedic Procedures
Introduction: The population of patients with cirrhosis is growing and shifting toward a more elderly demographic and thus are at risk of developing orthopedic complications. There is lack of data on safety of orthopedic procedures in this population. Methods: We performed an analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2005 to 2011 for patients undergoing hip arthroplasty, knee arthroplasty, and spinal laminectomy/fusion, stratified by presence of cirrhosis. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality and secondary endpoints included length of stay (LOS) and costs. Results: There were 693,610 inpatient stays for orthopedic procedures conducted during the study period, with 3014 (0.43%) patients coded as having cirrhosis. Patients with cirrhosis had a lower median age (62 vs. 66 y; P<0.001) and were more likely to be male (52.3% vs. 41.1%; P<0.001). The inpatient mortality rate was significantly higher in patients with cirrhosis (2.4% vs. 0.4%; P<0.001) as was median LOS (4 vs. 3 d; P<0.001) and mean costs ($19,321 vs. $18,833; P<0.001). Patients with decompensated cirrhosis (vs. compensated cirrhosis) had significantly higher inpatient mortality rates (5.8% vs. 1.1%; P<0.001) with higher LOS and costs (P<0.001). On multivariable analysis, cirrhosis was associated with an increased risk of mortality (odds ratio, 4.22; 95% confidence interval, 2.92-6.10). Hospital cirrhosis volume was inversely associated with mortality, while hospital orthopedic procedure volumes had an inconsistent impact on outcomes. Conclusions: Inpatient orthopedic procedures in patients with cirrhosis result in high postoperative mortality, LOS, and costs. Careful patient selection is warranted to optimize cirrhosis patient postoperative outcomes.
Consensus treatment guidelines for urgent symptoms in cholangiocarcinoma (CC) patients (pts) with biliary stents or catheters using the modified RAND/UCLA Delphi process.
452 Background: CC pts with biliary stents or catheters often present with fever and/or jaundice requiring urgent treatment for which there is no uniform guideline. We aimed to develop an expert panel consensus on this topic using the modified RAND/UCLA Delphi process to rate treatment appropriateness. Methods: We recruited 13 physician experts from relevant specialty, geography, and practice settings. Patient scenarios were developed based on a literature review, and therapies were rated by the experts before and after a face-to-face discussion. The appropriateness of various therapies was rated on a 1-9 scale and classified as appropriate, inappropriate, or uncertain. Scenarios with > 2 ratings of 1-3 (inappropriate) and > 2 ratings of 7-9 (appropriate) were considered to have disagreement and were not assigned an appropriateness rating. Results: Panelists were from all US regions (92%) and the UK (8%); had practiced for a mean 16.5 years (4-33 years) and reported seeing an average of 120 unique CC patients a year (0-900 pts). Panelists rated 288 clinical scenarios. Experts decided that ongoing treatment with chemotherapy did not influence decision-making. Disagreement decreased from 37.5% before the meeting to 10.4% after. Consensus statements are summarized in table 1. Conclusions: The Delphi process produced consensus guidelines to fill an unmet need in urgent management of ascending cholangitis in pts with CC. Studies of the impact of these guidelines on cost of care and pt outcomes are warranted. (Support: The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation)[Table: see text]