High Symptom Burden in Patients Receiving Radiotherapy and Factors Associated with Being Offered an Intervention

Abstract

Patient report outcomes are commonly collected during oncology visits to elicit symptom burden and guide management. We aimed to determine the frequency of intervention for patients undergoing radiotherapy with high symptom complexity scores and identify which factors are associated with being offered an intervention. A retrospective chart audit was completed of adult patients with cancer who had at least one radiotherapy appointment and were assigned a high symptom complexity. A total of 200 patients were included; 150 (75.0%) patients were offered an intervention for the main symptom. The most offered intervention was medications. Multivariable logistic regression showed factors associated with being offered an intervention were the following: symptom score of 9 (OR = 9.56, 95% CI 1.64–62.8) and 10 (OR = 7.90, 95% CI 1.69–38.2); palliative intent radiation (OR 3.87, 96% CI 1.46–11.1); and last review appointment (OR 6.22, 95% CI 1.84–23.3). Symptoms associated with being offered an intervention included pain (OR 22.6, 95% CI 6.47–91.1), nausea (OR 15.7, 95% CI 1.51–412), shortness of breath (OR 7.97, 95% CI 1.20–63.7), and anxiety (OR 6.69, 95% CI 1.58–31.6). This knowledge will help guide clinical practice to understand symptom burden and how we can improve our management of patients’ symptoms.