Pharmaceutical prevention and management of radiation dermatitis in clinical practice
Julian Philipp Layer,
Germany
PO-2255
Abstract
Pharmaceutical prevention and management of radiation dermatitis in clinical practice
Authors: Julian Philipp Layer1, Katharina Layer1, Andrea Glasmacher1, Gustavo Sarria1, Alexander Böhner1, Yonah Lucas Layer1, Petra Feyer2, Brigitta Baumert3, Rene Baumann4, David Krug5, Frank Giordano6, Leonard Christopher Schmeel1
1University Hospital Bonn, Department of Radiation Oncology, Bonn, Germany; 2Vivantes Hospital Neukölln, Institute of Radiation Oncology, Berlin, Germany; 3Cantonal Hospital Graubünden, Institute of Radiation Oncology, Chur, Switzerland; 4St. Marien Hospital, Department of Radiation Oncology, Siegen, Germany; 5University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Department of Radiation Oncology, Kiel, Germany; 6University Hospital Mannheim, Department of Radiation Oncology, Mannheim, Germany
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Purpose or Objective
Radiation dermatitis (RD) remains the most common side effect in radiation therapy affecting patients’ quality of life and possibly threatening treatment continuation. Various pharmaceutical options are available for both RD prevention and treatment, however no uniform guidelines exist. We sought to determine pharmaceutical management patterns of RD among the German-speaking radiation oncology community.
Material and Methods
We conducted a survey on RD among radiation oncology departments and private centers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland inquiring for their opinion on preventive and therapeutic pharmaceutical approaches for acute RD.
Results
244 health professionals from academic, non-academic and private centers participated. There was no consensus on the prophylaxis of RD. Several approaches reported by respondents are not recommended in guidelines or sufficiently supported by evidence. Dexpanthenol proved to be the agent most widely used both for prevention (53%) and treatment (76.9%) of RD, followed by urea (29.8%) for RD prevention and corticosteroids (46.9%) for RD treatment. 32.5% of participants did generally not recommend preventative treatment. 53.4% of participants recommend alternative medicine options for RD management. While seldomly used, corticosteroids were considered most effective in RD therapy, followed by dexpanthenol and low-level laser therapy. A majority of participants prefers moist treatment over dry treatment of moist desquamation and 43.75% prescribe antiseptics.
Conclusion
Pharmaceutical prevention and treatment of RD in the German-speaking radiation oncology community remain uneven and many proceedings are not supported by evidence-based medicine. Stronger evidence level and interdisciplinary consensus is required amongst practitioners to improve these care patterns.