Multidisciplinary radio-guided surgery team: Alternative to change the current paradigm

Abstract

Introduction: Given the constant increase in the healthcare demand for examinations related to radio-guided surgery (RGS), our hospital adopted new professional profiles in the RGS team, in order to partially reduce the time spent by nuclear medicine physicians on this task.

Aim: To analyze the process of incorporating the profiles of Diagnostic Imaging Technician (DIT) and Sentinel Node Referent Nurse (SNRN), evaluating their deployment in the procedures linked to the technique.

Material and methods: Analysis of RGS activity during the period 2018-2022, focusing on pre-surgical and surgical procedures related to breast cancer (BC) and malignant melanoma (MM), as they are those pathologies on which the transfer of care competencies was concentrated. Chronological evolution of the competencies assumed by the different profiles during their integration into the RGS team.

Results: RGS's healthcare activity during the analyzed period experienced an increase of 109%. BC and MM were the pathologies that accounted for by far the greatest demand for care. The transfer of competencies in these two pathologies occurred in a progressive and staggered manner, with 74% (460/622) of the administration phase being carried out by the SNRN and 64% (333/519) of the surgeries by the DIT in 2022.

Conclusions: The creation of a multidisciplinary RGS team that includes different professional profiles (nuclear medicine physician [MN], ERGC and TSID) is an effective strategy to respond to the increase in the complexity and number of all procedures related to RGS.

Keywords: Biopsia selectiva del ganglio centinela; Cirugía radioguiada; Linfogammagrafía; Lymphoscintigraphy; Medicina nuclear; Nuclear medicine; Radio-guided surgery; Sentinel node biopsy.