Abstract
To determine the current practice patterns of analgesia (AG) and anesthesia (AS) use across the U.S. for gynecologic brachytherapy (BT) procedures.
A 27-item survey was created with expertise from five practicing radiation oncology brachytherapists in the U.S. and distributed electronically to 90 Radiation Oncology residency programs for dissemination. The survey was also publicized on social media via the X (formally Twitter) platform, and at two national meetings (The American Brachytherapy Society Annual Meeting 2023 and The American Society for Radiation Therapy Annual Meeting 2023) during the months of June-October 2023.
Forty-one responses were received (46% response rate). Fifty-four percent identified as female, 66% Caucasian race and 85% of non-Hispanic/Latino ethnicity. Ninety-three percent were physician brachytherapists, 5% medical physicists, and 2% did not disclose their profession. Forty nine percent reported typically carrying out procedures in a BT suite ± separate CT simulator alone, 39% in the operating room ± BT suite or CT simulator or other location. Ten percent reported the CT simulation room alone, and 2% in a clinic exam room. The number of cervix BT courses most frequently performed per month was between 0 and 5 at 61%, and 44% reported an average of five applicator placements per course (range 0-5). Thirty four percent reported using general anesthesia alone (GA) for intracavitary BT (n=41), 20% conscious sedation (CS) alone, 10% oral analgesia (OA) alone, and 9% spinal or epidural AS alone. The remaining responses were combinations of AG or AS (see table 1). Hybrid intracavitary/interstitial BT applicators are being used by 61% of respondents, 49% of which are vendor made devices (e.g., Elekta/Varian). Among those performing hybrid BT (n=25), 40% use GA alone, 16% use CS alone, 12% epidural or spinal AS alone, and 4% OA alone. The remaining responses were combinations of AG or AS. For template interstitial BT (n=25), 44% use GA alone, 48% epidural alone or in combination with other AS, and 8% CS alone. Twenty-two percent of all respondents report providing AG or AS during applicator placement only, while 32% report offering it during placement, planning, treatment, and removal. The most commonly cited reason for not using CS or GA was lack of anesthesia resources and clinician preference. Seventy-three percent reported the belief that patients suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms after BT. However, 68% reported not using techniques to help alleviate emotional distress related to BT procedures.
AG/AS practice patterns for gynecologic BT vary widely across the United States. While many clinicians report using some form of GA, CS or epidural AS, 10% are using only oral analgesia methods, and 22% are offering AG/AS only during applicator placement. Furthermore, 73% of respondents believe patients suffer from PTSD symptoms after BT, but only 32% report use of techniques to help alleviate this. AS resources and clinician preference are areas that should be targeted for expansion of higher quality care.