Implementation of routine venous thromboembolism prophylaxis during neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the venous thromboembolism (VTE) rate in patients with ovarian cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy before and after implementing routine thromboprophylaxis. METHODS: This is a quasi-experimental pre-post study evaluating the VTE rate in patients with ovarian cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy following a quality improvement initiative of routine thromboprophylaxis within a single healthcare system that started in January 2017. Patients were excluded if VTE was diagnosed before initiating chemotherapy. Patient factors and perioperative variables of interest were investigated for their association with VTE through univariate and multivariate models. RESULTS: Of the 136 patients in the pre-implementation group, 3.7% (n = 5) received thromboprophylaxis. Of the 154 patients in the post-implementation group, 65.6% (n = 101) received thromboprophylaxis. Provider compliance varied from 51% in 2019 to 79.3% in 2021. The overall rate of VTE, from the start of chemotherapy to the end of treatment, was 21.3% (n = 29) pre- and 8.4% (n = 13) in the post-implementation group (p < 0.01). There was no difference in major bleeding events between groups (0% vs. 0.68%, p = 0.63). On univariate analysis, thromboprophylaxis (OR 0.19; 95% CI 0.07-0.52) and post-implementation period (OR 0.34; 95% CI 0.17-0.69) were associated with a decreased risk of any VTE during primary treatment. On multivariate analysis, only thromboprophylaxis remained significantly associated with reduced VTE rates (aOR 0.19; 95% CI 0.07-0.53). CONCLUSION: Routine thromboprophylaxis during neoadjuvant chemotherapy is associated with reduced risk of VTE throughout primary treatment and is not associated with increased bleeding events.

Implementation of a standardized voiding management protocol to reduce unnecessary re-catheterization - A quality improvement project.

OBJECTIVE: To design and implement a standardized postoperative voiding management protocol that accurately identifies patients with urinary retention and reduces unnecessary re-catheterization. METHODS: A postoperative voiding management protocol was designed and implemented in patients undergoing major, inpatient, non-radical abdominal surgery with a gynecologic oncologist. No patients had epidural catheters. The implemented quality improvement (QI) protocol included: 1) Foley removal at six hours postoperatively; 2) universal bladder scan after the first void; and 3) limiting re-catheterization to patients with bladder scan volumes >150 ml. A total of 96 patients post-protocol implementation were compared to 52 patients pre-protocol. Along with baseline demographic data and timing of catheter removal, we recorded the presence or absence of urinary retention and/or unnecessary re-catheterization and postoperative urinary tract infection rates. Fisher's exact test and student's t-tests were performed for comparisons. RESULTS: The overall rate of postoperative urinary retention was 21.6% (32/148). The new voiding management protocol reduced the rate of unnecessary re-catheterization by 90% (13.5% vs 2.1%, p = 0.01), without overlooking true urinary retention (23.1% vs 20.8%, p = 0.83). Additionally, there was a significant increase in hospital-defined early discharge prior to 11:00 AM (4.0% vs 22.0%, p = 0.022). There was no difference in the postoperative urinary tract infection rate between the groups (p = 1.00). Risk factors associated with urinary retention included older age (p < 0.01), use of medications with anticholinergic properties (p < 0.01), and preexisting urinary dysfunction (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of this new voiding management protocol reduced unnecessary re-catheterization, captured and treated true urinary retention, and facilitated early hospital discharge.

The decline in attitudes toward physician-nurse collaboration from medical school to residency.

While interprofessional collaboration is a critical aspect of optimal patient care, practicing physicians often have sub-optimal attitudes regarding the importance of collaboration with their nursing colleagues. The impact of clinical training on medical students' and residents' attitudes toward physician-nurse collaboration has not been investigated. The primary goal of our study was to examine if learners at different stages in their medical training had more or less favorable attitudes regarding interprofessional collaboration (IPC). A secondary goal was to compare residents in procedural versus non-procedural specialties to determine if attitudes toward IPC varied by specialty type. Third-year medical students and residents at a large public university completed the Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration. Student (n = 129) and resident (n = 292) scores were compared using Student's t-tests. Resident responses were further analyzed by specialty type. Students' perceptions of the physician-nurse relationship were significantly more favorable than the views of residents, particularly in the "Authority" and "Responsibility" domains. Residents in procedural specialties had less favorable attitudes toward physician-nurse collaboration than those in non-procedural specialties. Our findings highlight the importance of developing effective interventions for improving interprofessional collaboration during medical training.

Trends in surgical complexity and treatment modalities utilized in the management of ovarian cancer in an era of neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the impact of the increased use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on the complexity of cytoreductive surgeries for ovarian cancer. METHODS: Using the National Cancer Database, we performed a retrospective cohort study of women diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 with stage III or IV epithelial ovarian cancer who underwent either primary cytoreductive surgery (PDS) followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by interval debulking surgery. Cases were assigned a surgical complexity category as 1) Inadequate, 2) Low, 3) Moderate and, 4) High complexity. The primary outcome was the trend in surgical complexity over time. Secondary outcomes included temporal trends in treatment modality, perioperative mortality, and survival. RESULTS: At total of 52,582 (76.3%) underwent PDS and 16,307 (23.7%) underwent NACT. The utilization of NACT increased from 7.7% in 2004 to 27.8% in 2015 (p-trend < 0.001). Patients undergoing moderate complexity surgeries increased from 28.9% to 33.5% and high complexity surgeries from 26.3% to 30% (p-trend < 0.001, for both). Trends in increasing surgical complexity were seen in both NACT and PDS cohorts. This increase in surgical complexity was seen most profoundly at the high-volume centers. Overall 30-day mortality decreased from 3.4% in 2004 to 1.4% in 2015; and 90-day mortality decreased from 7.6% to 4%. During the same time, 5-year survival increased from 39.7% to 49%. CONCLUSIONS: Increase in the utilization of NACT is associated with decreased 30- and 90-day mortality and increase in five-year survival. Moreover, the overall complexity of ovarian cancer surgery has increased in both PDS and NACT cohorts.

Comparison of first-line chemotherapy regimens for ovarian carcinosarcoma: a single institution case series and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: The optimal first-line chemotherapy for ovarian carcinosarcoma has not yet been determined. We therefore sought to determine the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for patients with ovarian carcinosarcoma treated at our institution with different first-line chemotherapy regimens. METHODS: This single-institution, retrospective analysis included all patients with ovarian or primary peritoneal carcinosarcoma diagnosed from September 1996 to July 2017. Kaplan Meier analysis with a log-rank Mantel-Cox test was used to compare PFS and OS between treatment groups, and a p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients met inclusion criteria: two patients were stage IC, 5 were stage II, 21 were stage III, and 3 were stage IV. The median PFS and OS for all stages was 9.3 and 19.7 months respectively. Fifteen patients (48%) received carboplatin/paclitaxel as first therapy, 7 (23%) received ifosfamide/paclitaxel, 6 (19%) received a different regimen, and 3 (10%) did not receive chemotherapy. Patients treated with carboplatin/paclitaxel had a statistically significant longer PFS when compared to those receiving ifosfamide/paclitaxel (17.8 vs. 8.0 months, p = 0.025). OS was similar between all comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, in our cohort of ovarian carcinosarcoma patients, median PFS is longer in patients treated with carboplatin/paclitaxel compared to ifosfamide/paclitaxel. Overall survival was similar for all treatment groups, potentially due to subsequent treatment crossover. Given the rarity and aggressive nature of this tumor, further study into optimal first-line chemotherapy is warranted.

Development of a novel simulation model for assessment of laparoscopic camera navigation.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic camera navigation is vital to laparoscopic surgery, yet often falls to the most junior member of the surgical team who has limited laparoscopic operating experience. Previously published reports on simulation models fail to address qualitative scoring of movement, method of communication and correct physician location with respect to patient position. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a novel laparoscopic camera navigation simulation model that addresses these deficiencies. METHODS: A novel, low-cost laparoscopic camera navigational maze was constructed from pliable foam for use in a standard laparoscopic surgery box trainer. Participants (n = 37) completed a camera navigation exercise by following a pre-recorded set of verbal instructions using correct anatomic terminology that is used in the operating room, to simulate an actual operating room experience of receiving verbal cues from senior surgeons. The sample group consisted of participants at various levels of Obstetrics and Gynecology training, representing novice to expert laparoscopists. Each trial was recorded with a multi-channel video camera. Performances were scored by a blinded evaluator for excess gross and fine camera movements as well as overt errors, including camera collisions and failure to follow directions. RESULTS: Our model demonstrated evidence of validity by discriminating performance by level of laparoscopic experience with a statistically significant decrease in number of movements and errors in experts compared to novices. A trend emerged toward improvement with each additional year of training, with reduced variability among performances in more experienced participants. CONCLUSIONS: This novel, low-cost box-trainer simulation model for laparoscopic camera navigation offers a mechanism for assessment of laparoscopic camera operation skills. Moreover, this model closely replicates operating room logistics and communication. Given the necessity for improved laparoscopic camera operation education, our model represents a unique, complementary tool to other laparoscopic simulation curricula.

Association of a Biweekly Research Workgroup With Enhanced Resident Research Productivity.

Almost all residency programs require a resident research project, yet teaching and mentoring of the required skills are often lacking. We established an every-other-week gynecologic oncology research workgroup at our institution for obstetrics and gynecology faculty, fellows, and residents with the goal of increasing resident research education, involvement, and productivity. An informal, discussion-style format was adopted as a forum for brainstorming research ideas, formulating study protocols, and collaborating on institutional review board submissions. Additional aims included editorial feedback on abstracts and manuscripts as well as oral presentation preparation. The academic productivity of trainees mentored by the gynecologic oncology division was queried for 27 months before and 27 months after workgroup initiation, specifically assessing resident involvement in institutional review board submission, abstract presentation, and manuscript preparation. Institution of our workgroup was associated with a dramatic increase in resident research output, including manuscript preparation and presentations at national meetings. We describe our experience because it may benefit other residency programs wishing to improve both resident research education and productivity.