van Dijk SPJ, Coerts HI, Lončar I, van Kinschot CMJ, von Meyenfeldt EM, Edward Visser W, van Noord C, Zengerink HF, Ten Broek MRJ, Verhoef C, Peeters RP, van Ginhoven TM. Regional Collaboration and Trends in Clinical Management of Thyroid Cancer.
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2024;
170:159-168. [PMID:
37595096 DOI:
10.1002/ohn.481]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
This study examines the trends in the management of thyroid cancer and clinical outcomes in the Southwestern region of The Netherlands from 2010 to 2021, where a regional collaborative network has been implemented in January 2016.
STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective cohort study.
SETTING
This study encompasses all patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer of any subtype between January 2010 and June 2021 in 10 collaborating hospitals in the Southwestern region of The Netherlands.
METHODS
The primary outcome of this study was the occurrence of postoperative complications. Secondary outcomes were trends in surgical management, centralization, and waiting times of patients with thyroid cancer.
RESULTS
This study included 1186 patients with thyroid cancer. Median follow-up was 58 [interquartile range: 24-95] months. Surgery was performed in 1027 (86.6%) patients. No differences in postoperative complications, such as long-term hypoparathyroidism, permanent recurrent nerve paresis, or reoperation due to bleeding were seen over time. The percentage of patients with low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma referred to the academic hospital decreased from 85% (n = 120/142) in 2010 to 2013 to 70% (n = 120/171) in 2014 to 2017 and 62% (n = 100/162) in 2018 to 2021 (P < .01). The percentage of patients undergoing a hemithyroidectomy alone was 9% (n = 28/323) in 2010 to 2013 and increased to 20% (n = 63/317; P < .01) in 2018 to 2021.
CONCLUSION
The establishment of a regional oncological network coincided with a de-escalation of thyroid cancer treatment and centralization of complex patients and interventions. However, no differences in postoperative complications over time were observed. Determining the impact of regional oncological networks on quality of care is challenging in the absence of uniform quality indicators.
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