Critical assessment of resource waste in staging and follow-up of breast cancer
Rev. Assoc. Med. Bras. (1992, Impr.)
; 69(12): e20230565, 2023. tab, graf
Article
em En
|
LILACS-Express
| LILACS
| ID: biblio-1521521
Biblioteca responsável:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
SUMMARY BACKGROUND:
Breast cancer is a public health problem with both high incidence and cure rates. After treatment, patients are monitored for long periods of time due to the risk of recurrence. Thus, staging and follow-up strategies should consider not only the best results for the patient but also its costs for the public health system.OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this study was to quantify the waste of resources on breast cancer follow-up and evaluate its impact on the public health system.METHODS:
This is a retrospective analysis of consecutive medical records to identify the intervals between consultations and tests used for staging and during the first 2 years of follow-up of patients with breast cancer treated at a public hospital in Brazil. Data were compared with the guidelines of the main international consensus.RESULTS:
Medical records of 60 consecutive patients treated in 2018 were selected, of whom 52 had 2 or more years of follow-up, and 8 had only 1 year of complete follow-up. A total of 34 patients (56.67%) underwent excessive examinations for stating. During follow-up, 125 surplus consultations were performed (33.6%). In this phase, 111 surplus exams were also performed, representing an increase of 100.9%. A total of 423 laboratory tests were performed for 18 patients in the first year and 229 tests for 14 patients in the second year.CONCLUSION:
Excessive tests and consultations significantly burdened the Unified Health System without any benefit to patients. Better adherence to staging and follow-up recommendations could reduce costs and optimize the limited resources used in the public health system.
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Base de dados:
LILACS
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article