Use of a rapid access email referral system in lung cancer: Diagnosing Cancer Earlier?North Edinburgh Lung cancer service Western General Hospital

Rapid access to diagnostic tests and specialist opinion is a priority for patients. This retrospective cohort study assessed the efficacy of a fast track email referral for radiologists reporting chest x-rays suggestive of lung cancer. Email referrals were sent to a lung cancer service designated email with consultants then actively triaging these to a one stop lung cancer clinic with a CT scan and specialist consultation. 347 email referrals were received across two years. 182 (52%) were from radiologists and 171 (49%) from alternative specialties. Of the referrals received via the fast track email the mean time to CT chest and lung cancer clinic was 6.3 days (range: 1-26 days, median 6 days) compared with 17.2 days (range 1-91; median 12.5) when referred through traditional means. The radiologists fast track referral carried a yield of 60% for proven lung cancer. We found 23.2% of patients were diagnosed with stage one lung cancer via rapid access route in comparison to 13.1% through traditional referral systems with more patients going on to have surgery and less patients for best supportive care alone as an MDT outcome. (Table 1)We demonstrated that our fast track cancer referral system allowed patients significantly earlier access to CT scans and specialist opinion compared to alternative routes. The majority had a diagnosis of lung cancer confirmed and went on to receive prompter treatment. More patients were diagnosed with stage one lung cancer and subsequently referre...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Lung Cancer Source Type: research