Abstract
Introduction
The German Society of Radiation Oncology initiated a multicenter trial to evaluate core processes and subprocesses of radiotherapy by prospective evaluation of all important procedures in the most frequent malignancies treated by radiation therapy. The aim of this analysis was to assess the required resources for interstitial high-dose-rate (HDR) and low-dose-rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy (BRT) based on actual time measurements regarding allocation of personnel and room occupation needed for specific procedures.
Patients and methods
Two radiotherapy centers (community hospital of Offenbach am Main and community hospital of Eschweiler) participated in this prospective study. Working time of the different occupational groups and room occupancies for the workflow of prostate BRT were recorded and methodically assessed during a 3-month period.
Results
For HDR and LDR BRT, a total of 560 and 92 measurements, respectively, were documented. The time needed for treatment preplanning was median 24 min for HDR (n = 112 measurements) and 6 min for LDR BRT (n = 21). Catheter implantation with intraoperative HDR real-time planning (n = 112), postimplantation HDR treatment planning (n = 112), and remotely controlled HDR afterloading irradiation (n = 112) required median 25, 39, and 50 min, respectively. For LDR real-time planning (n = 39) and LDR treatment postplanning (n = 32), the assessed median duration was 91 and 11 min, respectively. Room occupancy and overall mean medical staff times were 194 and 910 min respectively, for HDR, and 113 and 371 min, respectively, for LDR BRT.
Conclusion
In this prospective analysis, the resource requirements for the application of HDR and LDR BRT of prostate cancer were assessed methodically and are presented for first time.
Zusammenfassung
Einleitung
Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Radioonkologie hat eine prospektive multizentrische Studie zur Evaluation der Kernarbeitsschritte in der radioonkologischen Behandlung der häufigsten Tumorentitäten durchgeführt. In dieser Analyse werden die Ergebnisse bezüglich des eingesetzten Personals sowie der Raumbelegungszeiten während der interstitiellen High-dose-rate(HDR)- und Low-dose-rate(LDR)-Brachytherapie (BRT) des Prostatakarzinoms dargestellt.
Patienten und Methodik
Zwei Strahlentherapiezentren (Klinikum Offenbach am Main und Sankt-Antonius-Hospital Eschweiler) nahmen an dieser prospektiven Studie teil. Die Arbeitszeit der verschiedenen Berufsgruppen sowie die Raumbelegung bei der Planung und Durchführung der Prostata-BRT wurden während eines Zeitraums von 3 Monaten dokumentiert.
Ergebnisse
Insgesamt wurden 560 Prozeduren für die HDR- und 92 für die LDR-BRT dokumentiert. Die Zeitdauer der Bestrahlungsvorplanung betrug median 24 min für die HDR- (n = 112 dokumentierte Prozeduren) und 6 min für die LDR-BRT (n = 21 dokumentierte Prozeduren). Die Behandlungsabschnitte der Katheterimplantation mit intraoperativer HDR-Bestrahlungsplanung (n = 112), der HDR-Postimplantationsbestrahlungsplanung (n = 112) sowie der HDR-Bestrahlung im Nachladeverfahren (n = 112) hatten einen zeitlichen Aufwand von jeweils 25, 39 und 50 min. Die Dauer der LDR-Echtzeitbestrahlungsplanung (n = 39) mit LDR-Behandlungsnachplanung (n = 32) betrug jeweils 91 und 11 min. Die mittlere Raumbelegungs- und Personalbindungszeit betrug jeweils 194 und 910 min für die HDR- sowie 113 und 371 min für die LDR-BRT.
Schlussfolgerung
In dieser prospektiven Analyse wurden die Arbeitszeit und der Personalaufwand zur Durchführung der interstitiellen BRT des Prostatakarzinoms erstmals methodisch erfasst und dargestellt.
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Conflict of interest. N. Tselis, U. Maurer, W. Popp, H. Sack, and N. Zamboglou state that there are no conflicts of interest.
The accompanying manuscript does not include studies on humans or animals.
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Tselis, N., Maurer, U., Popp, W. et al. Evaluation of time, attendance of medical staff, and resources during interstitial brachytherapy for prostate cancer. Strahlenther Onkol 190, 358–363 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00066-013-0515-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00066-013-0515-y