PERIOPERATIVE DISTRESS SCREENING FOR PATIENTS WITH LUNGCANCER: DO WE NEED TO RECONSIDER CURRENT PRACTICE?

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study was to assess the perioperative
use of the distress thermometer and referral practice to
psycho-oncological counselling among adult lung cancer patients
in a Swiss university hospital.
METHODS
This study employs a retrospective cross-sectional design
using electronic health records combined with a structured
exploration of the current literature. The study population
includes 327 patients, with 80 patients excluded due to missing
informed consent.
RESULTS
The patient characteristics matched with national cancer registry
data and relevant literature, indicating that the results
are representative of a wider population. The study found
a low rate of overall screening, with only 41.3% of patients
screened during the pre- or postoperative phase. Of these
patients, 153 distress thermometer values were available.
The preoperative group showed a strong connection between
high distress thermometer levels and subsequent referral
to psycho-oncological counselling. These findings were
not reproducible for the postoperative sample. The overall
referral rate to psycho-oncology was 11%, with turn down
reasons for counselling seen in Figure 1. However, both
groups expressed the social network as an important coping
strategy to distress.
CONCLUSIONS
The author found that preoperative distress thermometer
screenings led to sufficient referrals, while postoperative
screenings require more standardisation and studies that explore
patient experience for conclusive statements. Nurses
play a crucial role in screening, triaging, and counselling patients
with high psychosocial distress, necessitating relevant
training to provide these services confidently. Overall screening
rates need improvement to identify more patients in
distress. The current distress screening practice needs questioning.
A more standardised screening approach that adapts
to shorter hospital stays is necessary for future practice. Additionally,
future research should focus on the social network
of lung cancer patients as a vital resource for psycho-social
support.