Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30124123›Full record

ArticleJournal of oncology pharmacy practice : official publication of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners2019

Overuse and underuse of pegfilgrastim for primary prophylaxis of febrile neutropenia.

Andrew R Zullo, Uvette Lou, Sarah E Cabral, Justin Huynh, Christine M Berard-Collins

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of oncology pharmacy practice : official publication of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 29% of its field
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

9 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Global under- and overprescribing of drugs-a scoping review.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026
    Review
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  6. Afebrile chemotherapy-induced neutropenia: an international survey spots oncologists' routine clinical practice versus the standard of care and the impact of COVID-19.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022
    Article
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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

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Andrew R Zullo1 Department of Pharmacy, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
Uvette Lou5 Department of Pharmacy, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Sarah E Cabral1 Department of Pharmacy, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
Justin Huynh1 Department of Pharmacy, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
Christine M Berard-Collins1 Department of Pharmacy, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
Providence College · USRhode Island Hospital · USMassachusetts General Hospital · US

Funding

AHRQ HHS K12 HS022998
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionGuidelines recommend pegfilgrastim for primary prophylaxis of febrile neutropenia after highly myelosuppressive chemotherapy. While deviations from guidelines could result in overuse and increased costs, underuse is also a concern and could compromise quality of care. Our objectives were to evaluate guideline adherence and quantify the extent to which physician heterogeneity may influence pegfilgrastim use.

methodsWe randomly sampled 550 patients from a retrospective cohort of those who received infusions at an academic cancer center between 1 September 2013 and 1 September 2014. Electronic medical and drug dispensing records provided information on patient characteristics, chemotherapy characteristics, prescribing physician, and pegfilgrastim administration.

resultsWe included 154 patients treated by 25 physicians. About half of patients were male and mean age was 61.3 years. Forty (26.1%) patients had no febrile neutropenia risk factors, 62 (40.5%) had one, and 51 (33.3%) had two or more. Thirty patients (19.5%) received pegfilgrastim, of which 12 (40%) received palliative chemotherapy. Nine (60%) of 15 patients on a regimen with a febrile neutropenia risk  ≥ 20% received pegfilgrastim. Pegfilgrastim use significantly varied by cancer type (p < 0.01), chemotherapy regimen (p < 0.001), and regimen febrile neutropenia risk (p < 0.001). Multivariable analysis reaffirmed the association between chemotherapy regimen febrile neutropenia risk ≥ 20% and pegfilgrastim use (odds ratio (OR) = 10.1, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.6-62.7) and suggested that 31% (95% CI: 8%-71%) of the variation in use was attributable to physician characteristics.

conclusionPegfilgrastim was potentially overused for palliative chemotherapy and underused for chemotherapy regimens with febrile neutropenia risk ≥ 20%. Successful interventions to modify prescribing practices likely require an understanding of the relationship between specific physician characteristics and pegfilgrastim use.

Indexed as

Guideline AdherenceAgedAntineoplastic AgentsFebrile NeutropeniaFemaleFilgrastimGranulocyte Colony-Stimulating FactorHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasmsPolyethylene GlycolsPractice Guidelines as TopicPractice Patterns, Physicians'Prescription Drug OveruseRetrospective StudiesAntineoplastic AgentsFilgrastimGranulocyte Colony-Stimulating FactorpegfilgrastimPolyethylene Glycolschemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia; practice patternsGranulocyte colony-stimulating factorphysicians’; pharmacy; antineoplastic combined chemotherapy protocols/adverse effects

Identifiers

PMID30124123
PMCPMC8915199
OpenAlexW2888280674

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

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.