Table 4.
Impact of intravenous versus subcutaneous administration from an FTEs perspective: in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and in breast cancer
| Rituximab preparation | Intravenous administration | Subcutaneous administration* | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| In non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma | |||
| Median time to prepare rituximab (for each patient with eight therapeutic administrations) | Mean: 1.64 hours Median: 1.02 hours Standard error: 1.73 hours (95% CI: ±0.88 hours) |
Mean: 0.53 hours Median: 0.50 hours Standard error: 0.14 hours (95% CI: ±0.07 hours) |
−63% (−0.12 FTE) |
| Median time to prepare rituximab (for median number of patients per) | Mean: 0.38 hours Median: 0.23 hours Standard error: 0.33 hours (95% CI: ±0.16 hours) |
Mean: 0.16 hours Median: 0.12 hours Standard error: 0.12 hours (95% CI: ±0.06 hours) |
−54% (−0.03 FTE) |
| In breast cancer | |||
| Trastuzumab preparation | Intravenous administration | Subcutaneous administration** | Difference |
| Median time to prepare trastuzumab (for each patient with eight therapeutic administrations) | Mean: 2.84 hours Median: 1.95 hours Standard error: 1.92 hours (95% CI: ±1.04 hours) |
Mean: 0.90 hours Median: 0.90 hours Standard error: 0 hours (95% CI: ±0 hours) |
−68% (−0.27 FTE) |
| Median time to prepare trastuzumab (for median number of patients per) | Mean: 0.56 hours Median: 0.27 hours Standard error: 0.67 hours (95% CI: ±0.36 hours) |
Mean: 0.16 hours Median: 0.10 hours Standard error: 0.14 hours (95% CI: ±0.08 hours) |
−71% (−0.06 FTE) |
Notes:
*
First administration with rituximab is with intravenous mode due to tolerability; administration 2–8: 3 minutes per administration (in ward).
**
Three minutes (ward) per administration. Patient preparation time includes prescription check, drug taking, drug preparation, bag labeling.
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; FTEs, full time equivalents.