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- Author or Editor: Joanne L. Intile x
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the readability of discharge summaries distributed to owners of pets newly diagnosed with cancer.
SAMPLE
118 discharge summaries provided to pet owners following initial consultation.
PROCEDURES
A database search identified records of new patients that had been presented to the North Carolina State Veterinary Hospital medical oncology service between June 2017 and January 2019. Owner-directed portions of the summaries provided at the time of discharge were copied and pasted into a document and stripped of all identifying information. Readability of summaries was assessed with the use of 2 previously established readability calculators: the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) tests.
RESULTS
Mean ± SD FKGL was 11.9 ± 1.1 (median, 11.9; range, 8.6 to 15.5; target ≤ 6), and the mean ± SD FRE score was 43 ± 5.9 (median, 42.7; range, 25.5 to 58.1; target ≥ 60). There were no significant differences in FKGL or FRE scores among discharge summaries for patients with the 4 most common tumor types diagnosed or the described treatment options. Ninety-three percent (110/118) of summaries were scored as difficult or very difficult to read.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Owner-directed written information regarding a diagnosis of cancer at a single teaching hospital exceeded readability levels recommended by the American Medical Association and NIH and was above the average reading level of most US adults. Efforts to improve readability are an important component of promoting relationship-centered care and may improve owner compliance and patient outcomes.
Abstract
CASE DESCRIPTION
2 male and 3 female adult bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) were evaluated at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine's Exotic Animal Medicine Service between September 2018 and October 2019 because of severe lymphocytosis.
CLINICAL FINDINGS
All 5 bearded dragons had nonspecific clinical signs, including lethargy, poor appetite, ocular discharge, and weight loss. Clinicopathologic testing revealed extremely high lymphocyte counts with morphological findings consistent with lymphocytic leukemia.
TREATMENT AND OUTCOME
All 5 patients were treated with lomustine, prednisolone, and antimicrobials. In addition, 1 or 2 doses of L-asparaginase were administered when the drug was available. Partial remission was achieved in all 5 patients. One patient, after disease progression was documented, was treated with cyclophosphamide and achieved a second partial remission. One of the 5 patients was still alive and continuing to receive chemotherapy at the time of final follow-up 244 days after the initial diagnosis. Survival times (ie, times from initial diagnosis to euthanasia) for the other 4 patients were 57, 157, 330, and 416 days.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE
The present report represented the first description of lomustine as a primary chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of lymphocytic leukemia in bearded dragons and provided information on response to treatment, adverse effects, and survival times.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate survival times for dogs with previously untreated, peripheral nodal, intermediate- or large-cell lymphoma treated with prednisone alone.
ANIMALS
109 client-owned dogs recruited from 15 institutions in the United States.
PROCEDURES
Dogs were treated with prednisone at a dosage of 40 mg/m2, PO, once daily for 7 days and at a dosage of 20 mg/m2, PO, once daily thereafter. Quality of life (QOL) was assessed by owners with a visual analog scale when treatment was started (day 0), 1 and 2 weeks after treatment was started, and every 4 weeks thereafter. The primary outcome of interest was survival time as determined by the Kaplan-Meier method. Factors potentially associated with survival time were examined.
RESULTS
Median overall survival time was 50 days (95% CI, 41 to 59 days). Factors associated with survival time included substage (a vs b) and immunopheno-type (B cell vs T cell). Owner-assigned QOL scores on days 0 and 14 were significantly positively correlated with survival time. When QOL score was dichotomized, dogs with day 0 or day 14 QOL scores ≥ 50 had significantly longer survival times, compared with dogs with day 0 or day 14 QOL scores < 50. No variables were predictive of long-term (> 120 days) survival.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Results suggested that survival times were short for dogs with previously untreated, peripheral nodal, intermediate- or large-cell lymphoma treated with prednisone alone. Owner-perceived QOL and clinician-assigned sub-stage were both associated with survival time. Findings provide potentially important information for clinicians to discuss with owners of dogs with lymphoma at the time treatment decisions are made. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2021;259:62–71)
