Adherence to and Implementation of ASCO Antiemetic Guidelines in Routine Practice in a Tertiary Cancer Center in India

Background: Nonadherence of antiemetic prescriptions to evidence-based antiemetic guidelines is associated with an increased proportion of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. The current project was carried out to improve the quality of antiemetic prescriptions at our institute.Methods: We initially performed a retrospective analysis of 1,211 consecutive antiemetic prescription records of adult patients with solid tumors who received outpatient chemotherapy regimens. The antiemetic prescription records were classified as either ASCO-guideline adherent or nonadherent, and the impact on emesis was studied. These data were used to educate clinicians regarding the importance of adherence to guidelines. We then revised our antiemetic prescription policies and made their use mandatory. In addition, a double-check system was introduced to ensure implementation. A reaudit was performed to study the impact of these interventions.Results: ASCO-guideline–adherent prescriptions in the initial part of our study were associated with a lower rate of vomiting (6.6% v 21.9%; P < .001), emergency visits (2.6% v 5.8%; P = .006), and hospitalization for emesis (0.9% v 4.9%; P < .001). The proportion of prescriptions classified as ASCO-guideline adherent in the initial audit and the reaudit were 63.6% and 98.5%, respectively ( P < .001). The proportion of patients for whom antiemetic prescriptions were overused was significantly lower on the reaudit (41.3% v 68.3% before the interventions; P = .001).Conclusion: Mandatory, semirigid corrective steps as carried out in this audit led to an improvement in antiemetic-guideline adherence rate.