RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Patient's contacts with primary health care regarding specific lung cancer symptoms the year prior to diagnosis
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP 4831
VO 42
IS Suppl 57
A1 Eva Österlund Efraimsson
A1 Margaretha Korsgren
A1 Birgitta Göthman
A1 Kersin Smids
YR 2013
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/4831.abstract
AB Aim: To describe the contact patients had with primary health care retrospectively a year before lung cancer was diagnosed: number of contacts, specific symptoms of lung cancer and time from the first contact until referral to chest x-ray,specialized lung clinic and diagnosis.Method: The design was a retrospective medical record review with a quantitative approach. Ten records were selected from patients diagnosed with lung cancer in a mid-Swedish municipality from January to June 2011.Result: Patients had on average eight primary health contacts (telephone advice and/or surgery visits) with a registered nurse or doctor the year before a lung cancer diagnosis was established. On average, four of these contacts could be linked with specific symptoms of lung cancer such as cough, dyspnea, fatigue, back/chest pain and hemoptysis. The average time span from the first contact about specific symptoms until diagnosis was 21 weeks. The average time from making a lung cancer clinic referral until establishing a diagnosis was three weeks.Conclusion: The study showed a large discrepancy between practice and clinical guidelines on chest x-ray for smokers over 40 experiencing new respiratory symptoms. On average the patient had contact with primary health care showing specific lung cancer symptoms for eleven weeks until a chest x-ray referral was made and for 21 weeks until a diagnosis was established.