Feasibility of assessing symptoms associated with ovarian cancer using an electronic medical intake questionnaire
Objective: Symptoms occur in up to 75% of patients with early-stage ovarian cancer; as such, using a symptom inventory (SI) to stratify which patients should receive screening for ovarian cancer is an attractive approach to mitigate false-positives. We report on the feasibility and results of a pros...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Gynecologic Oncology Reports |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352578925000645 |
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| author | Eric D. Helm Cam Nguyen Stephen Rotholz Saketh R. Guntupalli Barbara A. Goff Benjamin G. Bitler Kian Behbakht |
| author_facet | Eric D. Helm Cam Nguyen Stephen Rotholz Saketh R. Guntupalli Barbara A. Goff Benjamin G. Bitler Kian Behbakht |
| author_sort | Eric D. Helm |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: Symptoms occur in up to 75% of patients with early-stage ovarian cancer; as such, using a symptom inventory (SI) to stratify which patients should receive screening for ovarian cancer is an attractive approach to mitigate false-positives. We report on the feasibility and results of a prospective four-question SI that assessed the following symptoms: abdominal pain, bloating, early satiety, and urinary complaints. Frequency and duration of symptoms were not assessed. Methods: A SI was added to the standard pre-appointment check-in process via the electronic medical record’s (EMR) patient portal for all annual or new patient visits in a generalist obstetrics and gynecology faculty practice in patients over 40 years of age. IRB exemption was granted. Data were extracted from the EMR, compiled in REDCap, and analyzed in R. Results: A total of 589 individual patients were included in the final analysis. The median age of the participants was 50 years (range: 40–86). 27.8 % of patients experienced at least one symptom in the prior year, and the most commonly reported symptom was urinary urgency/frequency (14.9 %). Patients with a history of medical comorbidities such as depression, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, and irritable bowel syndrome were more likely to screen positive on the SI. No cancers have been diagnosed to date. Conclusions: Implementing a SI using the EMR is feasible but is influenced by the presence of pre-existing diagnoses. The effectiveness of an EMR-based SI pre-screen as a selection criterion for early detection requires further study and assessment of frequency and duration of symptoms should be considered. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6e36767c9477497f9f31de8a460f9eff |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2352-5789 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Gynecologic Oncology Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-6e36767c9477497f9f31de8a460f9eff2025-08-20T02:10:02ZengElsevierGynecologic Oncology Reports2352-57892025-06-015910173910.1016/j.gore.2025.101739Feasibility of assessing symptoms associated with ovarian cancer using an electronic medical intake questionnaireEric D. Helm0Cam Nguyen1Stephen Rotholz2Saketh R. Guntupalli3Barbara A. Goff4Benjamin G. Bitler5Kian Behbakht6University of Colorado, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Corresponding author at: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 12631 East 17th, Avenue, Room 4007, B198-6, Aurora, CO, 80045, United States.University of Colorado, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and GynecologyUniversity of Colorado, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and GynecologyUniversity of Colorado, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and GynecologyUniversity of Washington, Department of Obstetrics and GynecologyUniversity of Colorado, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; University of Colorado, Division of Reproductive Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and GynecologyUniversity of Colorado, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; University of Colorado, Division of Reproductive Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and GynecologyObjective: Symptoms occur in up to 75% of patients with early-stage ovarian cancer; as such, using a symptom inventory (SI) to stratify which patients should receive screening for ovarian cancer is an attractive approach to mitigate false-positives. We report on the feasibility and results of a prospective four-question SI that assessed the following symptoms: abdominal pain, bloating, early satiety, and urinary complaints. Frequency and duration of symptoms were not assessed. Methods: A SI was added to the standard pre-appointment check-in process via the electronic medical record’s (EMR) patient portal for all annual or new patient visits in a generalist obstetrics and gynecology faculty practice in patients over 40 years of age. IRB exemption was granted. Data were extracted from the EMR, compiled in REDCap, and analyzed in R. Results: A total of 589 individual patients were included in the final analysis. The median age of the participants was 50 years (range: 40–86). 27.8 % of patients experienced at least one symptom in the prior year, and the most commonly reported symptom was urinary urgency/frequency (14.9 %). Patients with a history of medical comorbidities such as depression, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, and irritable bowel syndrome were more likely to screen positive on the SI. No cancers have been diagnosed to date. Conclusions: Implementing a SI using the EMR is feasible but is influenced by the presence of pre-existing diagnoses. The effectiveness of an EMR-based SI pre-screen as a selection criterion for early detection requires further study and assessment of frequency and duration of symptoms should be considered.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352578925000645 |
| spellingShingle | Eric D. Helm Cam Nguyen Stephen Rotholz Saketh R. Guntupalli Barbara A. Goff Benjamin G. Bitler Kian Behbakht Feasibility of assessing symptoms associated with ovarian cancer using an electronic medical intake questionnaire Gynecologic Oncology Reports |
| title | Feasibility of assessing symptoms associated with ovarian cancer using an electronic medical intake questionnaire |
| title_full | Feasibility of assessing symptoms associated with ovarian cancer using an electronic medical intake questionnaire |
| title_fullStr | Feasibility of assessing symptoms associated with ovarian cancer using an electronic medical intake questionnaire |
| title_full_unstemmed | Feasibility of assessing symptoms associated with ovarian cancer using an electronic medical intake questionnaire |
| title_short | Feasibility of assessing symptoms associated with ovarian cancer using an electronic medical intake questionnaire |
| title_sort | feasibility of assessing symptoms associated with ovarian cancer using an electronic medical intake questionnaire |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352578925000645 |
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