Value analysis of postoperative staging imaging for asymptomatic, early-stage breast cancer: implications of clinical variation on utility and cost

Cost of Low-Value Imaging Worldwide: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Imaging with low or no benefit for the patient undermines the quality of care and amounts to vast opportunity costs. More than 3.6 billion imaging examinations are performed annually, and about 20-50% of these are of low value. This study aimed to synthesize knowledge of the costs of low-value imaging worldwide.

METHODS

This systematic review was based on the PRISMA statement. The database search was developed in Medline and further adapted to Embase-Ovid, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. Primary empirical studies assessing the costs of low-value diagnostic imaging were included if published between 2012 and March 2022. Studies designed as randomized controlled trials, non-randomized trials, cohort studies, cross-sectional studies, descriptive studies, cost analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and mixed-methods studies were eligible. The analysis was descriptive.

RESULTS

Of 5,567 records identified, 106 were included. Most of the studies included were conducted in the USA (n = 76), and a hospital or medical center was the most common setting (n = 82). Thirty-eight of the included studies calculated the costs of multiple imaging modalities; in studies with only one imaging modality included, conventional radiography was the most common (n = 32). Aggregated costs for low-value examinations amounts to billions of dollars per year globally. Initiatives to reduce low-value imaging may reduce costs by up to 95% without harming patients.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first systematic review of the cost of low-value imaging worldwide, documenting a high potential for cost reduction. Given the universal challenges with resource allocation, the large amount used for low-value imaging represents a vast opportunity cost and offers great potential to improve the quality and efficiency of care.

Significance of a positive sentinel lymph node biopsy in staging for distant metastasis in breast cancer: are current guidelines relevant?

INTRODUCTION

In breast cancer, early identification of distant metastasis changes management. Current guidelines recommend radiological staging in patients with a preoperative positive axilla; no guidelines address a preoperative negative axilla with subsequent positive sentinel lymph node biopsy. This study investigates whether current guidelines adequately identify distant metastasis in a positive sentinel lymph node biopsy population that had radiological staging.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients diagnosed with primary breast cancer between 1 January 2013 and 1 October 2017 with a positive sentinel lymph node biopsy and subsequent radiological staging from a single unit were included. A systematic search identified relevant guideline criteria, against which patients were audited.

RESULTS

A total of 330 patients with positive sentinel lymph node biopsy were identified; 227 (69%) had radiological staging postoperatively with computed tomography (5.3%), bone scan (2.6%) and both (92%) which identified 8/227 (3.5%) patients had distant metastasis. Patients with distant metastasis (DMp) compared with those without distant metastasis (NDMp) were associated with poorly differentiated tumours (DMp 62% vs NDMp 28%; p = 0.037), high-grade ductal carcinoma in situ (DMp 75% vs NDMp 39%; p = 0.043) and increased mean invasive tumour size (DMp 37mm vs NDMp 24mm; p = 0.014). Binomial logistic regression did not identify any characteristics to predict distant metastasis in staged patients (chi-squared p = 0.162). Two guidelines used postoperative results to inform radiological staging decision; 68/227 (30%) of staged patients met these guideline criteria, five of eight patients with distant metastasis did not meet current guideline criteria for radiological staging.

DISCUSSION

Over 50% of patients with distant metastasis did not meet current guideline criteria for radiological staging and would have remained undiagnosed if current guidelines were followed. This study had an acceptable detection rate of 3.5% for distant metastasis. We therefore recommend radiological staging in all patients with positive sentinel lymph node biopsy.

Availability and perceived usefulness of guidelines and protocols for subcutaneous hydration in palliative care settings

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the availability of, adherence to, and perceived usefulness of guidelines and protocols for managing hydration and subcutaneous hydration in palliative care settings.

BACKGROUND

Hydration at the end of life and the use of a subcutaneous route to hydrate generate some controversy among health professionals for different reasons. Having guidelines and protocols to assist in decision-making and to follow a standard procedure may be relevant in clinical practice.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional telephone survey, with closed-ended and open-ended questions designed specifically for this study.

METHODS

Data were obtained from 327 professionals, each from a different palliative care service. Mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum were calculated for continuous variables; frequency distributions were obtained for categorical variables. A qualitative content analysis was performed on the open-ended questions. The article adheres to the STROBE guidelines for reporting observational studies.

RESULTS

Only 24.8% of the participants had guidelines available to assist in making decisions regarding hydration, and 55.6% claimed to follow them 'always or almost always'. Of the participants, 38.8% had subcutaneous hydration protocols available, while 78.7% stated that they 'always or almost always' followed these protocols. The remaining participants considered the protocols as useful tools despite not having them available.

CONCLUSIONS

Only 25% of the participants' services had guidelines for hydration, and less than 40% had protocols for subcutaneous hydration. However, adherence was high, especially in cases where protocols existed. Among the participants who did not have guidelines and protocols, attitudes were mostly favourable, but mainly as a reference and support for an individualised clinical practice.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Guidelines and protocols on hydration in palliative care may be more useful as a solid reference and support for individualised practice than as instruments for standardising care. From this perspective, their development and availability in palliative care services are recommended.

The clinical and economic consequences of practice style variations in common surgical interventions: A protocol for systematic review

BACKGROUND

Surgical intervention is one of the common therapeutic interventions applied to a vast class of diseases. Unwarranted variation in practice style in different locations is considered as practice style variations (PSVs), which cause undesirable effects on patient health status and economic consequences. The magnitude of the variations in surgical interventions and its effects on clinical outcomes of patients and also utilization of resources have been investigated in recent years. But the findings show considerable heterogeneities in magnitude and consequences. We develop a protocol to systematically review the current literature of PSV to explain the magnitude of PSV and its clinical and economic consequences.

METHOD

This systematic review will include observational and experimental studies to investigate magnitude and consequences of PSV in common surgical interventions, cardiovascular disease, urological, and ophthalmological diseases. Source of information is scientific databases, theses, clinical trials registrations website, and grey literature. A comprehensive electronic search will be conducted through PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, EMBASE, and Scopus databases. Studies are assessed systematically by 2 investigators. Methodological quality of the included studies is evaluated by the STROBE and CONSORT checklists. In case of data availability, we will pool findings of included studies by meta-analysis techniques in the CMA software. Subgroup analyses are based on the type of the interventions and selected diseases.

RESULTS

This study has ethical approval from ethical committee of Iran University of Medical Sciences, ethic code: IR.IUMS.REC1395.9221504203. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

CONCLUSION

A systematic review is considered as an appropriate scientific method for reaching a consensus on magnitude as well as consequences of PSV. Results of this study will help clinical experts to attain more knowledge about PSV and encourage them to use some tools such as clinical guidelines and shared decision making to alleviate its consequences.