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Ulf Gerdtham. Photo.

Ulf Gerdtham

Professor

Ulf Gerdtham. Photo.

Fast-track access to urologic care for patients with macroscopic haematuria is efficient and cost-effective : results from a prospective intervention study

Author

  • Fredrik Liedberg
  • Ulf Gerdtham
  • Katarina Gralén
  • Sigurdur Gudjonsson
  • Staffan Jahnson
  • Irene Johansson
  • Oskar Hagberg
  • Staffan Larsson
  • Anna Karin Lind
  • Annika Löfgren
  • Jenny Wanegård
  • Hanna Åberg
  • Mef Nilbert
Show all

Summary, in English

Background:The delay between onset of macroscopic haematuria and diagnosis of bladder cancer is often long.Methods:We evaluated timely diagnosis and health-care costs for patients with macroscopic haematuria given fast-track access to diagnostics. During a 15-month period, a telephone hotline for fast-track diagnostics was provided in nine Swedish municipalities for patients aged ⩾50 years with macroscopic haematuria. The control group comprised 101 patients diagnosed with bladder cancer in the same catchment area with macroscopic haematuria who underwent regular diagnostic process.Results:In all 275 patients who called ‘the Red Phone’ hotline were investigated, and 47 of them (17%) were diagnosed with cancer and 36 of those had bladder cancer. Median time from patient-reported haematuria to diagnosis was 29 (interquartile range (IQR) 14−104) days and 50 (IQR 27−165) days in the intervention and the control group, respectively (P=0.03). The median health-care costs were lower in the intervention group (655 (IQR 655−655) EUR) than in the control group (767 (IQR 490−1096) EUR) (P=0.002).Conclusions:Direct access to urologic expertise and fast-track diagnostics is motivated for patients with macroscopic haematuria to reduce diagnostic intervals and lower health-care expenditures.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 25 August 2016; doi:10.1038/bjc.2016.265 www.bjcancer.com.

Department/s

  • EpiHealth: Epidemiology for Health
  • Urology - urothelial cancer, Malmö
  • BioCARE: Biomarkers in Cancer Medicine improving Health Care, Education and Innovation
  • Breastcancer-genetics
  • Health Economics
  • Urology
  • Medical oncology

Publishing year

2016-08-25

Language

English

Pages

770-775

Publication/Series

British Journal of Cancer

Volume

115

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Nature Publishing Group

Topic

  • Urology and Nephrology
  • Cancer and Oncology

Keywords

  • urologic care
  • macroscopic haematuria

Status

Published

Project

  • Precision Medicine in Hereditary Cancer and Sarcoma; targeted surveillance, immunotherapy and individualized follow-up
  • Precision Medicine in Hereditary Cancer and Sarcoma; targeted surveillance, immunotherapy and individualized follow-up

Research group

  • Urology - urothelial cancer, Malmö
  • Health Economics
  • Urology

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0007-0920