Efficacy and acceptability of home administration of Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)  

This abstract has open access
Abstract Description
Abstract ID :
HAC6398
Submission Type
Authors (including presenting author) :
Mak WC(1), Wong NM (1), Leung WYC (1), Lee LH (1)
Affiliation :
Department of Clinical Oncology, QEH
Introduction :
Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a growth factor that promotes blood cell proliferation & differentiation. It has been widely used in oncology settings to prevent infection & neutropenic fevers caused by chemotherapy. G-CSF can be administered by subcutaneous injection. However, daily subcutaneous injection requires regular GOPC visits & sometimes can be overwhelming for cancer patients. In the era of Covid-19 pandemic, social distancing & home care are especially imperative for immunocompromised cancer patients. To optimize the utilization of health care services & ease patients’ burden, QEH Chemotherapy Nurse Clinic has offered a G-CSF self-administration empowerment program for cancer patients.
Objectives :
To ease cancer patients/ their caregivers’ burden by minimizing GOPC visit & optimize health care services utilization



To understand patients’ experience of GCSF home administration & potential benefits of self-administration
Methodology :
Intervention: Education on G-CSF self-administraion



Patients/caregivers received education & training on self-administration of GCSF at nurse clinic. The education program includes four major aspects: education on medication storage, injection site selection, subcutaneous injection technique & care after injection. Patients or caregivers who are able to complete the training can administer GCSF at home.



Endpoint & outcome measures:

Endpoints were satisfaction with GCSF, effectiveness, safety, tolerability & compliance. Retrospective patient record analysis & patient survey with pre-set questionnaire was used to measure the stated outcomes.
Result & Outcome :
Characterization of patients:

In 2020, 64 patients/caregivers joined this program. Majority are female (92%, n=59), age range from 39-76 years-old (average age=57.5). Most patients inject the GCSF themselves (67.2%, n=43), others were injected by caregivers (31.3%, n=20).



Injection technique:

High self-administration successful rate 98.4% (n=63) was noted. Only one patient (1.56%) failed to inject the GCSF due to anxiety & needle phobia. None of the patient or caregiver required additional nurse consultation.



The tolerability & safety of GCSF:

None of the 64 patients experience adverse reactions or allergic reactions from GCSF, only one patient requested shorter duration of GCSF due to bone pain.



Effectiveness of GCSF:

Overall, low infection rate was noted. 3 events of febrile neutropenia occurred in 3 patients & no serious infections were observed.



Cost-effectiveness:

In terms of health care utilization in 2020, home administration of GCSF reduced 1823 GOPC visit.



Results of the survey:

20% of the cases (n=15) were evaluated for in-depth experience after GCSF home administration. All patients were able to store GCSF in 2-8℃, rotate injection site & none of them forgot to inject GCSF. All patient stated self-administration were easy & syringe was easy to use. Majority of patients (53.3%,n=8) revealed injections were very well tolerated. 93.3%(n=14) were very confident in GCSF self-administration. All patients opted they will continue to perform self-administration & all of them will recommend this program to other patients. Patients stated that this program can save waiting time in GOPC, convenience, reduce the chance of getting infections & reduce nurses’ workload.



Conclusion:

Patients found GCSF self-administration was easy & tolerable. During the pandemic, GCSF home administration eradicated the need to attend GOPC for regular injections bring economic benefits to both patients & healthcare system.

Abstracts With Same Type

Abstract ID
Abstract Title
Abstract Topic
Submission Type
Primary Author
HAC6312
Clinical Safety and Quality Service II (Projects aiming to enhance clinical safety and outcomes, clinical governance / risk management)
HA Staff
Kit Ling WONG
HAC6090
Research and Innovations (new projects / technology / innovations / service models)
HA Staff
chan marko
HAC5861
Clinical Safety and Quality Service I (Projects aiming to improve efficiency and effectiveness of care delivery to meet international standards)
HA Staff
Ms. Sabrina Ho
HAC5712
HA Young Investigators Session (Projects to be presented by HA staff who had joined HA for 10 years or less)
HA Staff
Mr. CHIT YI LAU
HAC5716
Clinical Safety and Quality Service II (Projects aiming to enhance clinical safety and outcomes, clinical governance / risk management)
HA Staff
Shuk Ching MAK
HAC5675
Staff Engagement and Empowerment (motivating staff / teamwork / work revamp tackling manpower issue / staff wellness / OSH / retention)
HA Staff
Connie Suk Ling LO
HAC6327
Staff Engagement and Empowerment (motivating staff / teamwork / work revamp tackling manpower issue / staff wellness / OSH / retention)
HA Staff
Yuk Sim LUI
HAC5990
HA Young Investigators Session (Projects to be presented by HA staff who had joined HA for 10 years or less)
HA Staff
P Y SY
348 visits