Notes

Systematic Review of Preoperative Patient Readiness.
In most situations, positive results obtained by ELISA should be confirmed by western blot. Serological assays should be properly standardized and validated for their intended purpose. The components of the test that are critical for maintaining suitable performance should be identified and appropriately checked. Users of commercial tests should verify that the test has been adequately evaluated by an independent body. Serology is useful for detecting Trichinella in animals and humans but its limitations need to be taken into account when interpreting the results. © 2019 The Authors.Purpose This study aims to quantify the incidence and distribution of prostatic calculi in a population of prostate radiotherapy patients and assess their potential role in prostate image guided radiotherapy (IGRT). Methods & materials A retrospective analysis of trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS), computed tomography (CT) planning and treatment verification cone beam CT (CBCT) scans from radical prostate radiotherapy patients (external beam and brachytherapy) between 2012 and 2014 was undertaken by a single experienced observer. An internationally validated schema from the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data system (PIRADS) was used to map the location of calculi. The association of calculi with patient and disease characteristics was explored. Data was analysed using SPSS (IBM version 22.0) using descriptive statistical methods and logistic binary regression analysis. Results 389 scan sets from 254 patients were included in the analysis. The overall incidence of calculi was 85% (n = 218) of which 79% (n = 201) & Oncology.A retrospective audit on the "Plan of the day" (POD) selection and intra-fractional bladder fillings were carried out on twenty adaptive bladder radiotherapy patients at a single institution. Treatment time, differences in bladder volume and displacement of outer bladder wall expansion over the treatment fraction were analysed. Average treatment time was 8.9 min. The mean percentage difference in bladder volume pre and post treatment was 13.7%, resulting in expansion of the bladder predominately in the superior and anterior directions. This audit confirmed that the institution's POD process sufficed without being significantly affected by the intra-fractional bladder filings. © 2019 The Authors.Background and purpose Overall treatment time (OTT) is essential for local tumour control and survival in radiotherapy of head and neck cancer (HNC). National radiotherapy guidelines of the Danish Head and Neck Cancer Group (DAHANCA) recommend a maximum OTT of 41 days for moderately accelerated radiation treatment (6 fractions/week) and 48 days for conventional treatment (5 fractions/week). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of surveillance of the radiotherapy course length and treatment gaps in HNC patients to reduce OTT. Methods The study included 2011 patients with HNC undergoing radical radiation treatment with 66-68 Gy in 33-34 fractions in 2003-2017 at Odense University Hospital. In February 2016, a systematic weekly review by two radiation therapists of all planned treatment courses was introduced to check OTT of individual patients to portend likely breaks or treatment prolongations. Schedules that violated the OTT guidelines were conferred with the responsible radiation oncologist, and treatment rescheduled by treating twice daily to catch up with a delay. Results The mean length of accelerated treatment courses was reduced from a maximum of 40.9 days in 2007 to 38.3 days in 2017 and from 50.3 days to 45.9 days for conventional courses. The percentage of individual treatment courses that violated the recommended OTT was reduced to 3% of the accelerated treatments and 13% for the conventional treatments. Conclusion Continuous surveillance of treatment schedules of HNC patients by a brief weekly survey reduced treatment course duration to an extent that was radiobiologically and clinically meaningful. © 2019 The Authors.Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS) are useful metrics in evidence-based clinical care and translational research. Recording treatment-related symptoms and Quality of Life (QoL) can provide information in counselling patients to aid decision-making. This prospective study tested the feasibility of radiographer-led collection of multiple validated PROMS from Prostate Cancer (PCa) patients comparing High Dose Rate Brachytherapy combined with hypo-fractionated external beam radiotherapy (hEBRT) and hEBRT alone. From June to August 2017, 20 men with localised PCa (T1-T3aN0M0) consented to participate in the study. Ten patients received combination treatment (37.5 Gray/15 fractions followed by a 15 Gray implant), and ten patients received monotherapy (60 Gray/20 fractions). PROMS were collected at four time-points (1) at baseline, (2) final fraction of hEBRT, (3) 8 weeks after commencing radiotherapy and (4) 12 weeks after commencing radiotherapy. The PROMS used were EPIC-26, IPSS, IIEFF-5 and SF-12. The difference between the two groups were tested using Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test. All participants completed all PROMS (100% response-rate). The Monotherapy group reported a higher incidence of bowel symptoms compared to the combination group and at Week 12, EPIC-26 bowel summary score demonstrated a statistically significant difference (p = 0.005). The prevalence of erectile dysfunction increased within both groups. Maintenance of QoL was reported throughout treatment. check details This small study demonstrated feasibility of radiographer-led PROMS collection by 100% completion rate. Streamlining of these tools into integrated technology applications and real time PROMS measurement has the ability to benefit patients and guide clinicians in adapting therapies based on individual need. © 2019 The Authors.Background Best-practice guidelines recommend single-fraction (SFRT) instead of multi-fraction radiation therapy (MFRT) for uncomplicated symptomatic bone metastases. SFRT is comparable to MFRT in relieving pain, convenient for patients, and cost-effective. Patterns of practice in Canada reveal that SFRT is underused, with significant variability across the country. We audited SFRT use and studied factors that may influence treatment decisions at a large academic tertiary care center in Quebec, Canada. Methods Patients who received radiotherapy for uncomplicated bone metastases between February 2014 and March 2015 were reviewed. Age, gender, primary histology, site of metastases and performance status were identified as potential factors affecting fractionation. These were explored by Fisher's test on univariate analysis and logistic regression for multivariate analysis. Retreatment rates were analyzed with cumulative incidence and compared with Gray's test. Results 254 radiotherapy courses were administered to 165 patients, 85.
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