The patient advisor, an organizational resource as a lever for an enhanced oncology patient experience (PAROLE-onco): a longitudinal multiple case study protocol

BACKGROUND

Quebec is one of the Canadian provinces with the highest rates of cancer incidence and prevalence. A study by the Rossy Cancer Network (RCN) of McGill university assessed six aspects of the patient experience among cancer patients and found that emotional support is the aspect most lacking. To improve this support, trained patient advisors (PAs) can be included as full-fledged members of the healthcare team, given that PA can rely on their knowledge with experiencing the disease and from using health and social care services to accompany cancer patients, they could help to round out the health and social care services offer in oncology. However, the feasibility of integrating PAs in clinical oncology teams has not been studied. In this multisite study, we will explore how to integrate PAs in clinical oncology teams and, under what conditions this can be successfully done. We aim to better understand effects of this PA intervention on patients, on the PAs themselves, the health and social care team, the administrators, and on the organization of services and to identify associated ethical and legal issues.

METHODS/DESIGN

We will conduct six mixed methods longitudinal case studies. Qualitative data will be used to study the integration of the PAs into clinical oncology teams and to identify the factors that are facilitators and inhibitors of the process, the associated ethical and legal issues, and the challenges that the PAs experience. Quantitative data will be used to assess effects on patients, PAs and team members, if any, of the PA intervention. The results will be used to support oncology programs in the integration of PAs into their healthcare teams and to design a future randomized pragmatic trial to evaluate the impact of PAs as full-fledged members of clinical oncology teams on cancer patients' experience of emotional support throughout their care trajectory.

DISCUSSION

This study will be the first to integrate PAs as full-fledged members of the clinical oncology team and to assess possible clinical and organizational level effects. Given the unique role of PAs, this study will complement the body of research on peer support and patient navigation. An additional innovative aspect of this study will be consideration of the ethical and legal issues at stake and how to address them in the health care organizations.

What characterizes cancer family history collection tools? A critical literature review

Background

Many tools have been developed for the standardized collection of cancer family history (fh). However, it remains unclear which tools have the potential to help health professionals overcome traditional barriers to collecting such histories. In this review, we describe the characteristics, validation process, and performance of existing tools and appraise the extent to which those tools can support health professionals in identifying and managing at-risk individuals.

Methods

Studies were identified through searches of the medline, embase, and Cochrane central databases from October 2015 to September 2016. Articles were included if they described a cancer fh collection tool, its use, and its validation process.

Results

Based on seventy-nine articles published between February 1978 and September 2016, 62 tools were identified. Most of the tools were paper-based and designed to be self-administered by lay individuals. One quarter of the tools could automatically produce pedigrees, provide cancer-risk assessment, and deliver evidence-based recommendations. One third of the tools were validated against a standard reference for collected fh quality and cancer-risk assessment. Only 3 tools were integrated into an electronic health records system.

Conclusions

In the present review, we found no tool with characteristics that might make it an efficient clinical support for health care providers in cancer-risk identification and management. Adequately validated tools that are connected to electronic health records are needed to encourage the systematic identification of individuals at increased risk of cancer.

Targeting Complement Pathways During Cold Ischemia and Reperfusion Prevents Delayed Graft Function

The complement system plays a critical role in ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI)-mediated delayed graft function (DGF). To better understand the roles of complement activation pathways in IRI in kidney transplantation, donor kidneys were treated ex vivo with terminal complement pathway (TP) inhibitor, anti-rat C5 mAb 18A10, or complement alternative pathway (AP) inhibitor TT30 for 28 h at 4°C pretransplantation in a syngeneic kidney transplantation rat model. All 18A10- and 67% of TT30-pretreated grafts, but only 16.7% of isotype control-pretreated grafts, survived beyond day 21 (p < 0.01). Inhibitor treatment in the final 45 min of 28-h cold ischemia (CI) similarly improved graft survival. Systemic posttransplant treatment with 18A10 resulted in 60% increased graft survival beyond day 21 (p < 0.01), while no TT30-treated rat survived > 6 days. Our results demonstrate that AP plays a prominent role during CI and that blocking either the AP or, more effectively the TP prevents ischemic injury and subsequent DGF. Multiple complement pathways may be activated and contribute to reperfusion injury; blocking the TP, but not the AP, posttransplant is effective in preventing reperfusion injury and increasing graft survival. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using complement inhibitors for prevention of DGF in humans.

Octylcyanoacrylate: a new medical-grade adhesive for otologic surgery

HYPOTHESIS

The adhesive octylcyanoacrylate is not associated with significant inner ear toxicity in a guinea pig model.

BACKGROUND

Many cyanoacrylate adhesives have been investigated for use in otologic surgery, but variable ototoxicity has been reported. Octylcyanoacrylate is a medical-grade adhesive with many properties that make it ideal for use in the ear. It is free of contaminants; it forms a strong, flexible bond; and it inhibits the growth of gram-positive organisms in culture. This is the first study to assess the ototoxicity of this new adhesive.

METHODS

Fourteen adult guinea pigs were used. Preoperative auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) were determined. Bilateral antrotomies were performed, and the ears were randomized to adhesive and control (saline) groups. In the adhesive ears. 0.5 or 0.1 mL of octylcyanoacrylate was instilled into the middle ear. Eight weeks later, postoperative ABRs were determined, the animals were killed, and the temporal bones were removed. Middle ear changes were noted, and the ossicular chain was assessed. Cochlear hair cell analyses were performed. Histologic assessment of the middle ear mucosa was performed.

RESULTS

There was a higher incidence of conductive hearing loss in the adhesive group secondary to fixation of the ossicular chain, but there was no significant difference in bone conduction thresholds. The median postoperative bone conduction thresholds (dB peak sound pressure level) was 15.0 in the control group and 17.5 in the adhesive group, p = 0.89. There was also no significant difference in inner hair cell counts (0.4% vs. 0.5% median hair cell loss, p = 0.72) or outer hair cell counts (3.7% vs. 3.0% median hair cell loss, p = 0.23) for the adhesive and control groups, respectively. Histopathologic analysis of the middle ear mucosa demonstrated variable mild to moderate foreign body reaction with no evidence of mucosal ulceration or necrosis.

CONCLUSIONS

A large amount of octylcyanoacrylate placed in the middle ear of the guinea pig did not cause any morphologic or functional evidence of inner ear toxicity. This new adhesive is a promising tool for otologic surgery.