Table 3.
Domain (Practice): diagnosing cancer patients with cachexia
| N | Statistic | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| In your opinion, what is the level of attention that is given to the diagnosis of cachexia? | |||
| High attention | 214 | 9.0% | |
| Moderate attention | 804 | 33.9% | |
| Low attention | 1033 | 43.5% | |
| No attention | 91 | 3.8% | |
| Missing data | 233 | 9.8% | |
| Diagnosing cancer patients with cachexia should include the following actions (select all that apply): | |||
| Identifying the presence of anorexia and decreased oral intake | 1949 | 82.1% | |
| Determining calorie and protein requirements | 1426 | 60.0% | |
| Measuring body composition | 1206 | 50.8% | |
| Evaluating inflammatory markers (i.e. acute phase proteins, pro‐inflammatory cytokines and WBC) | 1601 | 67.4% | |
| Evaluating physical function | 1628 | 68.5% | |
| Collecting clinical and laboratory data to validate the diagnosis of cachexia | 1304 | 54.9% | |
| Other: free text | 48 | 2.0% | |
| I do not know | 50 | 2.1% | |
| I do not conduct these types of assessments therefore not applicable for my professional | 401 | 16.9% | |
| I use the definition and/or diagnostic criteria from professional organizations to support and confirm my identification of or diagnosis of cancer cachexia (select all that apply): | |||
| American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) | 328 | 13.8% | |
| Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) Clinical Guidelines on Nutrition in Cancer Patients | 35 | 1.5% | |
| American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) | 365 | 15.4% | |
| European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) | 418 | 17.6% | |
| European Palliative Care Research Collaborative (EPCRC) | 149 | 6.3% | |
| Designated national/regional guidelines | 398 | 16.8% | |
| My institutional guidelines | 186 | 7.8% | |
| My own clinical judgement | 510 | 21.5% | |
| Other: free text | 83 | 3.5% | |
| I do not diagnose cachexia in cancer patients therefore not applicable for my professional role/responsibility | 535 | 22.5% | |
| Terms used for diagnosing cancer‐related weight loss in my practice setting include (select all that apply): | |||
| Unintentional weight loss | 1374 | 57.9% | |
| Anorexia | 1592 | 67.0% | |
| Malnutrition | 1755 | 73.9% | |
| Cachexia | 1592 | 67.0% | |
| Other (free text) | 78 | 3.3% | |
| Malnutrition may be used as a diagnosis for cachexia because (select all that apply): | |||
| There are standardized tools to screen for and diagnose malnutrition | 535 | 22.5% | |
| Insurance companies reimburse for interventions related to a diagnosis of malnutrition | 258 | 10.9% | |
| Malnutrition is more easily understood | 1108 | 46.7% | |
| Clinicians confuse malnutrition with cachexia | 991 | 41.7% | |
| Other: free text | 91 | 3.8% | |