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Purpose While previous research has highlighted treatment delay inequities in early-stage breast cancer and identified potential contributing factors, there is limited research on disparities in treatment delays for metastatic breast cancer (MBC). This study investigates these disparities in MBC treatment initiation, aiming to identify key factors crucial for improving timely access to care. Method Nationwide Flatiron Health electronic health records-derived deidentified database, including females aged 18+ diagnosed with either De novo or relapsed MBC in the U.S. between 2011 and 2022. Treatment delay, defined as > 60 days between diagnosis and first-line treatment, was assessed as a binary variable. T-tests and chi-squared tests analyzed patient characteristics (age, race, insurance, diagnosis stage, metastasis site, phenotypes, etc.) among delayed and non-delayed groups. Logistic regression evaluated the association between clinical and non-clinical factors and treatment delays. Results Among 20,617 patients with MBC, nearly 27% experienced treatment delays. These patients were generally younger, uninsured, historically marginalized, and newly diagnosed. Risk ratio analysis showed patients with only Medicare without secondary coverage (RR: 2.34, 95% CI [1.06, 5.16]) and uninsured (RR: 2.18, 95% CI [1.01, 4.76]) had higher risk of delays compared to those with commercial insurance. Historically marginalized patients had higher delay risk, ranging from 6% for Black patients to 12% for patients with not documented race/ethnicity background ( p  = 0.03) compared to White patients.\" Conclusion Our study highlights significant disparities in MBC treatment delays. Patients from historically marginalized groups and those without health insurance coverage or with only Medicare coverage are highly likely to experience delays. Addressing these disparities is essential for equitable healthcare and improved outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to determine socioeconomic and demographic factors which may contribute to inequities in time to treat thyroid cancer. We used data from the National Cancer Database, 2004-2019, to conduct an analysis of thyroid cancer patients. All (434,083) patients with thyroid cancer, including papillary (395,598), follicular (23,494), medullary (7,638), and anaplastic (7,353) types were included. We compared the wait time from diagnosis to first treatment, surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy for patients based on age, race, sex, location, and socioeconomic status (SES). A total of 434,083 patients with thyroid cancer were included. Hispanic patients had significantly longer wait times to all treatments compared to non-Hispanic patients (first treatment 33.44 vs. 20.45 days, surgery 40.06 vs. 26.49 days, radiotherapy 114.68 vs. 96.42 days, chemotherapy 92.70 vs. 58.71 days). Uninsured patients, patients at academic facilities, and patients in metropolitan areas also had the longest wait times to treatment. This study identified multiple disparities related to SES and demographics that correspond to delays in time to treatment. It is crucial that this topic is investigated further to help mitigate these incongruities in thyroid cancer care in the future.

Introduction Children in low- and middle-income countries face barriers to timely access to cancer care. Between January and June 2023, an awareness campaign in Bungoma County, Kenya, aimed to address this issue. This study describes sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of children diagnosed with cancer after the campaign, explores health-seeking behaviors and delays, and compares cancer referrals pre- and post-campaign. Methods Parental interviews were conducted for all children newly diagnosed with cancer from Bungoma County at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital between January 2023 and December 2024 using structured questionnaires. Hospital registry data from January 2014 to December 2024 were analyzed to compare referrals pre- and post-campaign (2014–2022 versus 2023–2024). Results Following the campaign, 30 children were diagnosed with cancer (40% female, median age 5.5 years). Diagnoses included hematological cancers (23%), solid tumors (60%), rare solid tumors (7%), and brain tumors (10%), with 57% of solid tumors presenting at advanced stages. Delays were substantial: the median patient-, physician-, diagnosis-, treatment-, health system-, and total delays were 30, 104, 114, 6, 114, and 146 days, respectively. Barriers included the use of traditional medicine, cultural beliefs, financial strain, travel costs, lack of insurance, income loss, and fear. Annual referral rate before and after the campaign (2014–2022 versus 2023–2024) showed no statistically significant difference (Chi-square test, p  = 0.071; Fisher’s exact test, p  = 0.063). Conclusion The campaign did not increase cancer diagnoses, highlighting ongoing barriers to timely access to childhood cancer care. Addressing these barriers is essential for improving access to childhood cancer care. Factors such as healthcare worker strikes, supply shortages, and treatment seeking at other facilities may have contributed to the lower-than-expected numbers.

Introduction Breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally. This study aims to examine the demographic variables and effects of different treatment modalities and treatment delays on overall and relative survival rates of breast cancer patients in Brunei Darussalam. Methods This retrospective study analysed data from the Brunei Darussalam Cancer Registry on breast cancer cases diagnosed and treated between 2013 and 2022. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics to characterise the study population, Kaplan-Meier estimates to compare survival curves of different groups, Log rank tests to determine significant differences in survival rates among groups, and Cox Proportional Hazard (PH) models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and identify predictors of survival outcomes. Overall survival (OS) and relative survival (RS) rates were calculated. Results Out of the 431 women treated for breast cancer, the majority were diagnosed at the regional stage (45.7%), with 39.0% at the localised stage. Over half (55.4%) of the diagnoses occurred in women aged 40 to 59, while about a quarter (25.5%) were in the 60–69 age group. Surgery was the most common first-line treatment modality (55.9%), with a median time to treatment of 37 days, followed by chemotherapy (30.6%). More than half of the patients (62.9%) were treated within 60 days of diagnosis. Treatment varied by age and cancer stage, with younger patients more likely to undergo surgery and older patients more likely to receive chemotherapy or hormonal therapy. Survival rates were high for patients receiving only surgery (5-year RS: 98.7%, OS: 92.3%), and significant survival differences were found for cancer stage and treatment delay, with a HR of 2.5 for delays over 60 days. Multivariate analysis showed that patients with distant stage cancer had a significantly higher risk of death (HR = 15.3) compared to localised stage. Conclusion This study highlights the impact of treatment modalities and delays on breast cancer survival in Brunei Darussalam, emphasising the need for timely treatment to improve survival rates. Our findings suggest that ensuring breast cancer treatment initiation within two months post-diagnosis may enhance patient outcomes, supporting potential policy targets for timely access to care.

Objective This study investigated the prevalence of treatment delays among preschoolers with dental caries, identified the associated influencing factors, and predicted the risk of delayed treatment. The findings of this study provide an evidence base for future interventions designed to reduce treatment delays in this population. Methods A convenience sample of 264 preschool children with dental caries and their parents who visited the paediatric dental department between October 2023 and May 2024 was surveyed. Data were collected using a general information questionnaire, a medical status questionnaire, the Children’s Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale, the Modified Version Dental Anxiety Scale, the Short-Form Health Literacy Dental Scale, and the Illness Perception Questionnaire Revised for Dental. Influencing factors were analysed using univariate analysis and binary logistic regression, whereas the risk of occurrence was predicted using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results The prevalence of delayed treatment among preschool children with dental caries was 71.21%, with an average delay of 117.5 days. Binary logistic regression analysis identified several independent factors significantly associated with delayed treatment ( P  < 0.05), including the primary caregiver, initial symptom recognition, children’s dental fear, parental dental anxiety, and parental oral health literacy. Predictive analyses indicated that children’s dental fear (AUC: 0.765, 95%CI: 0.707–0.823) and parental oral health literacy (AUC: 0.738, 95%CI: 0.673–0.802) demonstrated relatively high predictive values for delayed treatment. Conclusion Efforts to reduce delayed treatment should prioritise addressing children’s dental fear and improving parental oral health literacy. Targeted and effective strategies in these areas may facilitate early prevention, diagnosis, and intervention, thereby minimising treatment delays, reducing disease burden, and promoting oral health among preschoolers.

Background Re‐designing services and processes to meet growing demands in chemotherapy services is necessary with increasing treatments. There is little evidence guiding the timing and thresholds to be attained of pre‐chemotherapy blood assessments, namely neutrophils. Methods A survey was developed and distributed to health professionals in the United Kingdom (UK) to examine current practice in timing and threshold values of neutrophils and platelets before treatment administration. This was followed by a retrospective cohort study, using data from electronic patient record systems; including patients initiating treatment between January 2013 and December 2018, to determine a safe timeframe for blood assessments; comparing neutrophil, platelet, creatinine and bilirubin levels at different time points. Results The survey captured 25% of hospitals in the UK and variations were apparent in both the timing of assessments and thresholds needed, particularly for neutrophils. 616 (6.5%) of 4007 patients included had neutrophil levels measured twice within 7 days of treatment (with the first level taken beyond 3 days and the second test being within 3 days of treatment‐ the UK standard). Of the patients that attained an acceptable neutrophil level at their first test, five of the 616 (0.8%) became ineligible for administration from the test 2 level. 23% of patients improved their grade and became eligible for treatment. Little difference was observed for platelets. Conclusions We have demonstrated that extending the timeframe for blood tests can be safe, however, this practice may cause unnecessary delays for patients if only an early test is relied on for eligibility. There is a dearth of evidence supporting the correct timing of blood tests prior to chemotherapy, leading to patients receiving numerous unnecessary tests. We aimed to provide this evidence, utilising data from electronic prescribing systems and showed that extending periods were safe but in the case of neutrophil assessments could lead to unwarranted delays.

Background Thirty countries with the highest tuberculosis (TB) burden bear 87% of the world’s TB cases. Delayed diagnosis and treatment are detrimental to TB prognosis and sustain TB transmission in the community, making TB elimination a great challenge, especially in these countries. Our objective was to elucidate the duration and determinants of delayed diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary TB in high TB-burden countries. Methods We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of quantitative and qualitative studies by searching four databases for literature published between 2008 and 2018 following PRISMA guidelines. We performed a narrative synthesis of the covariates significantly associated with patient, health system, treatment, and total delays. The pooled median duration of delay and effect sizes of covariates were estimated using random-effects meta-analyses. We identified key qualitative themes using thematic analysis. Results This review included 124 articles from 14 low- and lower-middle-income countries (LIC and LMIC) and five upper-middle-income countries (UMIC). The pooled median duration of delays (in days) were—patient delay (LIC/LMIC: 28 (95% CI 20–30); UMIC: 10 (95% CI 10–20), health system delay (LIC/LMIC: 14 (95% CI 2–28); UMIC: 4 (95% CI 2–4), and treatment delay (LIC/LMIC: 14 (95% CI 3–84); UMIC: 0 (95% CI 0–1). There was consistent evidence that being female and rural residence was associated with longer patient delay. Patient delay was also associated with other individual, interpersonal, and community risk factors such as poor TB knowledge, long chains of care-seeking through private/multiple providers, perceived stigma, financial insecurities, and poor access to healthcare. Organizational and policy factors mediated health system and treatment delays. These factors included the lack of resources and complex administrative procedures and systems at the health facilities. We identified data gaps in 11 high-burden countries. Conclusions This review presented the duration of delays and detailed the determinants of delayed TB diagnosis and treatment in high-burden countries. The gaps identified could be addressed through tailored approaches, education, and at a higher level, through health system strengthening and provision of universal health coverage to reduce delays and improve access to TB diagnosis and care. PROSPERO registration : CRD42018107237.

PurposeSevere Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) requiring intensive care has been the subject of few prospective studies. It is unclear whether delayed curative antibiotic therapy may impact survival in these severe forms of PJP. The impact of corticosteroid therapy combined with antibiotics is also unclear.MethodsThis multicentre, prospective observational study involving 49 adult intensive care units (ICUs) in France was designed to evaluate the severity, the clinical spectrum, and outcomes of patients with severe PJP, and to assess the association between delayed curative antibiotic treatment and adjunctive corticosteroid therapy with mortality.ResultsWe included 158 patients with PJP from September 2020 to August 2022. Their main reason for admission was acute respiratory failure (n = 150, 94.9%). 12% of them received antibiotic prophylaxis for PJP before ICU admission. The ICU, hospital, and 6-month mortality were 31.6%, 35.4%, and 40.5%, respectively. Using time-to-event analysis with a propensity score-based inverse probability of treatment weighting, the initiation of curative antibiotic treatment after 96 h of ICU admission was associated with faster occurrence of death [time ratio: 6.75; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.48–30.82; P = 0.014]. The use of corticosteroids for PJP was associated with faster occurrence of death (time ratio: 2.48; 95% CI 1.01–6.08; P = 0.048).ConclusionThis study showed that few patients with PJP admitted to intensive care received prophylactic antibiotic therapy, that delay in curative antibiotic treatment was common and that both delay in curative antibiotic treatment and adjunctive corticosteroids for PJP were associated with accelerated mortality.

Despite a well-described symptomatology, treatment delay and sequelae are common in patients with Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB). The aim of this study was to contribute to the knowledge about the symptomatology and epidemiology of LNB. We conducted a retrospective study of all LNB cases verified by a positive Borrelia intrathecal antibody index test performed at the Department of Microbiology, Odense University Hospital, Denmark, from 1995 through 2014. The study included 431 patients; 126 were children. The mean incidence was 4.7 per 100 000 inhabitants per year. The median delay from neurological symptom debut to first hospital contact was 20 days and significantly longer for patients with symptom debut in the winter/early spring. The most common clinical symptoms were painful radiculitis (65.9%), cranial nerve palsy (43.4%), and headache (28.3%). A total of 30.6% were seen in >1 hospital department, and 85.6% were admitted during their course of treatment. Serum Borrelia immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G at the time of positive Borrelia intrathecal antibody index test were negative in 67 patients (15.5%). We found a median treatment delay of 24 days, with no improvement in our 20-year study period. Residual symptoms following treatment were found in 28.1% of patients, and risk of residual symptoms was significantly associated with delay from symptom debut to initiation of treatment. The association between treatment delay and residual symptoms and the lack of improvement in treatment delay during the study period highlight the need for standardized diagnostic routines and a better follow-up for LNB patients. Our findings disprove that all patients with LNB develop positive serum Borrelia antibodies within 6 weeks after infection.

This article examines the impact of treatment delay on the outcomes of patients with breast cancer, comparing results of those utilizing the public health systems in Harris County (Texas, USA) and Southeast Brazil. Abstract Background Breast cancer outcomes among patients who use safety-net hospitals in the highly populated Harris County, Texas and Southeast Brazil are poor. It is unknown whether treatment delay contributes to these outcomes. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of patients with non-metastatic breast cancer diagnosed between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2011 at Harris Health Texas and Unicamp’s Women’s Hospital, Barretos Hospital, and Brazilian National Institute of Cancer, Brazil. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to evaluate association of time to treatment and risk of recurrence (ROR) or death. Results One thousand one hundred ninety-one patients were included. Women in Brazil were more frequently diagnosed with stage III disease (32.3% vs. 21.1% Texas; P = .002). Majority of patients in both populations had symptom-detected disease (63% in Brazil vs. 59% in Texas). Recurrence within 5 years from diagnosis was similar 21% versus 23%. Median time from diagnosis to first treatment defined as either systemic therapy (chemotherapy or endocrine therapy) or surgery, were comparable, 9.9 weeks versus 9.4 weeks. Treatment delay was not associated with increased ROR or death. Higher stage at diagnosis was associated with both increased ROR and death. Conclusion Time from symptoms to treatment was considerably long in both populations. Treatment delay did not affect outcomes. Impact Access to timely screening and diagnosis of breast cancer are priorities in these populations. This article examines the impact of treatment delay on the outcomes of patients with breast cancer, comparing results of those utilizing the public health systems in Harris County (Texas, USA) and Southeast Brazil.