Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27512571›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical radiation sciences2015

Practice patterns of radiation therapy technology in Australia: results of a national audit.

Pete Bridge, Shane Dempsey, Eileen Giles, Sharon Maresse, Giulia McCorkell, Craig Opie, Caroline Wright, Mary-Ann Carmichael

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of medical radiation sciences, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Patients' characteristics informing practice: improving individualized nursing care in the radiation oncology setting.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2018
    Article
  6. Radiation therapy staffing model 2014.Journal of medical radiation sciences · 2016
    Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Pete BridgeSchool of Health Sciences Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Queensland Australia.
Shane DempseyThe University of Newcastle Callaghan New South Wales Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7833-8066
Eileen GilesUniversity of South Australia Adelaide South Australia Australia.
Sharon MaresseCurtin University Perth Western Australia Australia.
Giulia McCorkellRMIT University Melbourne Victoria Australia.
Craig OpieNorthern Sydney Cancer Centre Royal North Shore Hospital St Leonards New South Wales Australia.
Caroline WrightMonash University Clayton Victoria Australia.
Mary-Ann CarmichaelSchool of Health Sciences Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Queensland Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThis article presents the results of a single-day census of radiation therapy (RT) treatment and technology use in Australia. The primary aim of the study was to ascertain patterns of RT practice and technology in use across Australia. These data were primarily collated to inform curriculum development of academic programs, thereby ensuring that training is matched to workforce patterns of practice.

methodsThe study design was a census method with all 59 RT centres in Australia being invited to provide quantitative summary data relating to patient case mix and technology use on a randomly selected but common date. Anonymous and demographic-free data were analysed using descriptive statistics.

resultsOverall data were provided across all six Australian States by 29 centres of a possible 59, yielding a response rate of 49% and representing a total of 2743 patients. Findings from this study indicate the increasing use of emerging intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), image fusion and image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) technology in Australian RT planning and delivery phases. IMRT in particular was used for 37% of patients, indicating a high uptake of the technology in Australia when compared to other published data. The results also highlight the resource-intensive nature of benign tumour radiotherapy.

conclusionsIn the absence of routine national data collection, the single-day census method offers a relatively convenient means of measuring and tracking RT resource utilisation. Wider use of this tool has the potential to not only track trends in technology implementation but also inform evidence-based guidelines for referral and resource planning.

Indexed as

Quality Assurance, Health CareAustraliaHealth FacilitiesHumansPractice Patterns, Physicians'Radiation Equipment and SuppliesRadiotherapyEducationimage‐guidedintensity‐modulatedradiotherapytechnology

Identifiers

PMID27512571
PMCPMC4968555

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.