Research
Comparison of guideline recommendations with daily practice in patients with renal cell carcinoma
1 Department of Urology, University Hospital Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians- University Munich, Germany
2 Department of Urology, Krankenhaus St. Josef, University of Regensburg, Germany
3 Department of Urology, Basel University Hospital, Switzerland
European Journal of Medical Research 2010, 15:253-257 doi:10.1186/2047-783X-15-6-253
Published: 28 June 2010Abstract
Objectives and Aims
To compare guideline recommendations with daily practice patterns in a German patient cohort with renal cell carcinoma.
Patients and methods
81 patients with T1 oder T2 renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were included in this prospective single-center study. All patients were operated in a single institution either by open radical nephrectomy (ORN) or nephron sparing surgery (NSS). Patients and doctors were evaluated using a written questionnaire with a follow-up of 12 months. Follow-up intervals, follow-up modalities (e. g. imaging modalities, laboratory controls of blood and urine) and the call on psycho-oncological support were evaluated.
Results
The majority of patients (72%) were followed up by their urologists. Follow-up examinations included abdominal ultrasound, urine and blood diagnostics, conventional chest x-rays, computed tomography (CT) of abdomen, chest or head or abdominal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). There were no significant differences between patients operated by ORN or NSS. In total, 12.5% of patients were asking for psycho-oncological support.
Conclusions
In general, patients were followed up according to existing guideline recommendations. Only a small proportion of patients asked for psycho-oncological treatment.
