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- Title
Impact of Pharmacist Telephone Follow-Up on Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting.
- Authors
McCabe, Jenny; Al-Bahou, Amanda; Koontz, Leann; Linderbeck, Linda; Verbosky, Michael; Prieto, Michelle
- Abstract
BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is a severe adverse event that negatively affects a patient's quality of life (QOL). The reasons for CINV and hospitalization after chemotherapy include poor adherence to guidelines and not prescribing the appropriate outpatient antiemetic drugs. At Tampa General Hospital, a pharmacist-led service model was created at the outpatient infusion center to contact patients receiving moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy to assess the incidence of CINV and to provide appropriate therapy recommendations. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of a pharmacist follow-up on the incidence of emergency department visits, hospital admissions, or infusion center appointments for CINV, with or without dehydration, within 30 days of receiving moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy, as well as the impact of CINV on patients' QOL. METHODS: In this single-center, retrospective study we compared patients who received an antiemetic drug regimen at our institution. Patients were divided into 2 groups: the intervention group included patients who had telephone follow-up by a pharmacist within 48 hours of initiating moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy between January and July 2020 and a historical control group of patients who received treatment between January and July 2019 and did not have follow-up with a pharmacist. During the follow-up calls, the pharmacist assessed the patient's adherence to an antiemetic drug regimen, the incidence of CINV, the patient's QOL, and the need for intervention. RESULTS: The study involved a total of 111 patients, including 68 patients in the intervention group and 43 patients in the historical control cohort. The incidence of the primary composite end point of emergency department visits, hospital admissions, or infusion center appointments for CINV, with or without dehydration, within 30 days of receiving moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy was 1.5% in the intervention group compared with 7% in the control group (P = .129). Significantly more patients in the control group were not prescribed outpatient antiemetic drugs than those in the intervention group (27.9% vs 1.5%, respectively; P <.000024). In the overall study population, 40% of all administered antiemetic drug regimens adhered to the current National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline recommendations. CONCLUSION: The pharmacist-led service model did not significantly affect emergency department or clinic visits for CINV, but it did result in a significant increase in prophylactic prescribing of antiemetic drugs. Nevertheless, this finding suggests that a follow-up call by a pharmacist for patients who are administered highly or moderately emetogenic chemotherapy may have a positive impact on the patients' QOL.
- Subjects
PATIENT compliance; CHEMOTHERAPY complications; PHARMACIST-patient relationships; DRUG prescribing; NAUSEA; VISITATION in hospitals
- Publication
Journal of Hematology Oncology Pharmacy, 2022, Vol 12, Issue 5, p248
- ISSN
2164-1153
- Publication type
Article