34 research outputs found

    Frequently Identified Gaps in Antibiotic Stewardship Programs in Critical Access Hospitals

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    Background: Nebraska (NE) Infection Control Assessment and Promotion Program (ICAP) is a CDC funded project. ICAP team works in collaboration with NE Department of Health and Human Services (NEDHHS) to assess and improve infection prevention and control programs (IPCP) in various health care settings including resource limited settings like critical access hospitals (CAH). Little is known about the existing gaps in antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) of CAH. Hence, we decided to study the current level of ASP activities and factors associated with these activities in CAH. Methods: NE ICAP conducted on-site surveys in 36 CAH from October 2015 to February 2017. ASP activities related to the 7 CDC recommended core elements (CE) including leadership support (LS), accountability, drug expertise (DE), action, tracking, reporting, and education were assessed using a CDC Infection Control Assessment Tool for acute care hospitals. Descriptive analyses evaluated CAH characteristics and frequency of CE implementation. Fisher’s exact, Mann–Whitney, and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used for statistical analyses examining the association of various factors with level of ASP activities. Results: The 36 surveyed CAH had a median of 20 (range 10–25) beds and employed a median of 0.4 (range 0.1–1.6) infection preventionist (IP) full-time equivalent (FTE)/25-bed. Frequency of CE implementation varied among CAH with action and LS as the most (69%) and least (28%) frequently implemented elements, respectively. Close to half (47%) of surveyed CAH had implemented ≥4 CE but only 14% of facilities had all 7 CE. Median bed size and IP FTE/25-bed were similar among CAH with 0–2, 3-5, or ≥6 CE in place. CAH with LS or accountability for ASP implemented higher median numbers of the remaining CE compared with CAH without LS or accountability (5 vs. 2, P \u3c 0.01 and 4 vs. 2, P \u3c 0.01, respectively). Facilities with The presence of LS, accountability and drug expertise were more likely to have all 4 remaining CE implemented than others (56% vs. 8%, P \u3c 0.01). Conclusion: LS, accountability, and DE are important factors for the implementation of the remaining 4 CE in CAH. Although LS was the least frequently implemented CE, when present was associated with implementation of most of the other CE. Acquiring LS will facilitate implementation of additional ASP efforts in CAH.https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/asap_pres/1000/thumbnail.jp

    Dosimetric Improvements in Balloon Based Brachytherapy Using the Contura® Multi-Lumen Balloon (MLB) Catheter to Deliver Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation

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    Purpose: Preliminary dosimetric findings in patients managed with the Contura® Multi-Lumen Balloon (MLB) breast brachytherapy catheter to deliver accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) on a multi-institutional phase IV registry trial were reviewed. Material and methods: CT-based 3D planning with dose optimization was performed for all patients. For the study, new ideal dosimetric goals were developed: 1) ≥ 95% of the prescribed dose (PD) covering ≥ 90% of the target volume (TV), 2) a maximum skin dose ≤ 125% of the PD, 3) maximum rib dose ≤ 145% of the PD, and 4) the V150 ≤ 50 cc and V200 ≤ 10 cc. The frequency of concurrently achieving these dosimetric goals using the Contura® MLB was investigated.Results: 194 cases were evaluable. Employing the MLB, all ideal dosimetric criteria were achieved in 76% of cases.Evaluating dosimetric criteria separately, 90% and 89% of cases met the new ideal skin and rib dose criteria, respectively. In 96%, ideal TV coverage goals were achieved and in 96%, dose homogeneity criteria (V150 and V200) were met. For skin spacing ≥ 5-7 mm, the median skin dose was 121% of the PD and when < 5 mm, the median skin dose was 124.4%. For rib distancees < 5 mm, the median rib dose was reduced to 136.4% of the PD. For skin spacing < 7 mm and distance to rib < 5 mm, the median skin and rib doses were concurrently limited to 121% and 142.8% of thePD, respectively. Conclusions: The Contura® MLB catheter provides potential improvements in dosimetric capabilities (i.e., reduced skin and rib doses and improved TV coverage) in many clinical scenarios

    Factors associated with optimal cosmetic results at 36 months in patients treated with accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) on the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) MammoSite® Breast Brachytherapy registry trial

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    Purpose: To evaluate factors associated with optimal cosmetic results at 36 months for early-stage breast cancer patients enrolled on the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) MammoSite® Breast Brachytherapy registry trial. Materials and Methods: 1,440 patients (1,449 cases) with early-stage breast cancer undergoing breast-conserving therapy were treated with the MammoSite® radiation therapy system (RTS) brachytherapy catheter to deliver adjuvant accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) (34 Gy in 3.4-Gy fractions). Cosmetic outcome was evaluated at each follow-up visit and dichotomized as excellent/good or fair/poor. Median follow-up for surviving patients was 43.0 months (range 0-73.0 months). Results: The percentage of patients with good/excellent cosmetic results at 12, 24, 36, and 48 months were as follows: 94.5% (n = 950/1,005), 93.8% (n = 781/833), 93.1% (n = 683/734), and 90.4% (n = 520/575), respectively. Three-year absolute rates of good/excellent cosmesis were as follows: breast-related wound infection (BWI) (83.3%) versus no BWI (94%), \u3c7 mm skin spacing (87.5%) versus ≥7 mm skin spacing (93.6%). Using multiple regression analysis, factors predictive of worse cosmetic outcome at 36 months included smaller skin spacing [odds ratio (OR) 1.06, confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.12] and BWI (OR 0.33, CI 0.16-0.70). A predictive model developed showed that presence of a BWI, use of chemotherapy, and skin spacing had the most effect on cosmetic outcomes. However, in patients that did not develop a breast infection, skin spacing and use of chemotherapy had the most effect on cosmesis. Conclusion: APBI delivered by MammoSite® brachytherapy lead to good/excellent cosmesis in 93% of patients with 3-year follow-up. Breast wound infection, use of chemotherapy, and skin spacing were found to be the three most important predictors of cosmesis at 36 months in our cohort of patients. © 2009 Society of Surgical Oncology

    Six-year analysis of treatment-related toxicities in patients treated with accelerated partial breast irradiation on the American Society of Breast Surgeons MammoSite Breast Brachytherapy Registry Trial

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    Background. The American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) enrolled women in a registry trial to prospectively study patients treated with the MammoSite RTS device. This report presents 6-year data on treatment-related toxicities from the trial. Methods. A total of 1449 primary early-stage breast cancers were treated with accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) using the MammoSite device (34 Gy in 10 fractions) in 1440 women. Of these, 1255 case (87%) had invasive breast cancer (IBC) (median size = 10 mm) and 194 cases (13%) had ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) (median size = 8 mm). Median follow-up was 59 months. Fisher exact test was performed to correlate categorical covariates with toxicity. Results. Breast seromas were reported in 28% of cases (35.5% with open cavity and 21.7% with closed cavity placement). Also, 13% of all treated breasts developed symptomatic seromas, and 77% of these seromas developed during the 1st year after treatment. There were 172 cases (11.9%) that required drainage to correct. Use of chemotherapy and balloon fill[50 cc were associated with the development of symptomatic seromas. Also, 2.3% of patients developed fat necrosis (FN). The incidence of FN during years 1 and 2 were 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively. Seroma formation, use of hormonal therapy, breast infection, and A/B cup size were associated with fat necrosis. There were 138 infections (9.5%) recorded; 98% occurred during the 1st year after treatment. Chemotherapy and seroma formation were associated with the development of infections. Conclusions. Treatment-related toxicities 6 years after treatment with APBI using the MammoSite device are similar to those reported with other forms of APBI with similar follow-up. © Society of Surgical Oncology 2011

    Factors associated with optimal long-term cosmetic results in patients treated with accelerated partial breast irradiation using balloon-based brachytherapy

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    Purpose: To evaluate factors associated with optimal cosmetic results at 72 months for early-stage breast cancer patients treated with Mammosite balloon-based accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI). Methods and Materials: A total of 1,440 patients (1,449 cases) with early-stage breast cancer undergoing breast-conserving therapy were treated with balloon-based brachytherapy to deliver APBI (34 Gy in 3.4-Gy fractions). Cosmetic outcome was evaluated at each follow-up visit and dichotomized as excellent/good (E/G) or fair/poor (F/P). Follow-up was evaluated at 36 and 72 months to establish long-term cosmesis, stability of cosmesis, and factors associated with optimal results. Results: The percentage of evaluable patients with excellent/good (E/G) cosmetic results at 36 months and more than 72 months were 93.3% (n = 708/759) and 90.4% (n = 235/260). Factors associated with optimal cosmetic results at 72 months included: larger skin spacing (p = 0.04) and T1 tumors (p = 0.02). Using multiple regression analysis, the only factors predictive of worse cosmetic outcome at 72 months were smaller skin spacing (odds ratio [OR], 0.89; confidence interval [CI], 0.80-0.99) and tumors greater than 2 cm (OR, 4.96, CI, 1.53-16.07). In all, 227 patients had both a 36-month and a 72-month cosmetic evaluation. The number of patients with E/G cosmetic results decreased only slightly from 93.4% at 3 years to 90.8% (p = 0.13) at 6 years, respectively. Conclusions: APBI delivered with balloon-based brachytherapy produced E/G cosmetic results in 90.4% of cases at 6 years. Larger tumors (T2) and smaller skin spacing were found to be the two most important independent predictors of cosmesis. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

    Ductal carcinoma in situ treated with breast-conserving surgery and accelerated partial breast irradiation

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    BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) patients treated in the American Society of Breast Surgeons MammoSite Breast Brachytherapy Registry Trial who met the criteria for E5194 treated with local excision and adjuvant accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI). METHODS: A total of 194 patients with DCIS were treated between 2002 and 2004 in the Mammosite registry trial; of these, 70 patients met the enrollment criteria for E5194: 1) low to intermediate grade (LIG)-pathological size \u3e0.3 but \u3c2.5 cm and margins ≥3 mm (n = 41) or 2) high grade (HG)-pathological size \u3c1 cm and margins ≥3 mm (n = 29). All patients were treated with lumpectomy followed by adjuvant APBI using MammoSite. Median follow-up was 52.7 months (range, 0-88.4). SAS (version 8.2) was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: In the LIG cohort, the 5-year IBTR was 0%, compared with 6.1% at 5 years in E5194. In the HG cohort, the 5-year IBTR was 5.3%, compared with 15.3% at 5 years in E5194. The overall 5-year IBTR was 2%, and there were no cases of elsewhere or regional failures in the entire cohort. The 5-year contralateral breast event rate was 0% and 5.6% in LIG and HG patients, respectively (compared with 3.5% and 4.2%, respectively, in E5194). CONCLUSIONS: This study found that patients who met the criteria of E5194 treated with APBI had extremely low rates of recurrence (0% vs 6.1% in the LIG cohort and 5.3% vs 15.3% in the HG cohort). © 2010 American Cancer Society
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