Access of patients with breast and lung cancer to chemotherapy treatment in public and private hospitals in the city of Buenos Aires. (24th May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Recondo, Gonzalo; Cosacow, César; Cutuli, Hernán Javier; Cermignani, Luciano; Straminsky, Samanta; Naveira, Martin; Pitzzu, Martin; De Ronato, Gabriela; Nacuzzi, Gabriela; Taetti, Gonzalo; Corsico, Santiago; Berrueta, Mabel; Colucci, Giuliana; Gibbons, Luz; Gutierrez, Laura; García-Elorrio, Ezequiel
• Is Part Of: International journal for quality in health care. Volume 31:Number 9(2019)
• Page Start: 682
• Page End: 690
• Publication Date: 2019-05-24
• Subjects: access -- breast cancer -- lung cancer -- chemotherapy -- Argentina; Medical care -- Quality control -- Periodicals; 362.1068
• DOI: 10.1093/intqhc/mzz047
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1353-4505

Abstract

Abstract: Objectives: Describe the time elapsed from the diagnosis to treatment with chemotherapy for patients with breast and lung cancer at public and private hospitals in Buenos Aires. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Three public and three private academic hospitals in Buenos Aires. Participants: Patients with breast ( n = 168) or lung cancer ( n = 100) diagnosis treated with chemotherapy. Main outcomes measures: Clinical and sociodemographic data were collected in a stratified sample. We used the Kaplan–Meier estimator to analyse the time elapsed and the log rank test to compare both groups Results: For breast cancer patients, median time elapsed between diagnosis and treatment with chemotherapy was 76 days (95% CI: 64–86) in public and 60 days (95% CI: 52–65) in private hospitals ( P = 0.0001). For adjuvant and neoadjuvant treatments, median time was 130 (95% CI: 109–159) versus 64 (95% CI: 56–73) days ( P < 0.0001) and 57 days (95% CI: 49–75) versus 26 (95% CI: 16–41) days, respectively ( P = 0.0002). There were no significant differences in the time from first consultation to diagnosis. In patients with lung cancer, median time from diagnosis to treatment was 71 days (95% CI: 60–83) in public hospitals and 31 days (95% CI: 24–39) in private hospitals ( P = 0.0002). In the metastatic setting, median time to treatment was 63 days (95% CI: 45–83) in public and 33 (95% CI: 26–44) days in private hospitals ( P = 0.005). Conclusions: There are significant disparity in the access to treatment with chemotherapy for patients in Buenos Aires, Argentina.