Congress Abstracts 2004

95

PET-CT: A BENEFICIAL TOOL IN RADIATION THERAPY TREATMENT PLANNING. Annette Quinn, RN, MSN, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Centers, Pittsburgh, PA, and Dwight Heron, MD, Shalom Kalnicki, MD, Norbert Averil, MD, Michelle Markovitz, RN, OCN^®, and Regiane Andrade, MD, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.

Soon, many radiation oncology centers will add a PET component to their CT simulators, and oncology nurses need to familiarize themselves with the education and care required for patients undergoing this imaging procedure.

The integration of spiral computed tomography and positron emission tomography (PET/CT) into radiation treatment planning might assist in the greater differentiation of normal tissues from tumor-bearing tissues and areas at high risk of recurrence. This could potentially improve the therapeutic window for patients treated with IMRT, especially for head and neck cancers. Because the use of PET/CT is becoming more and more common in radiation therapy, we, at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, developed an educational program for radiation oncology nurses to develop the tools and skills they need for administering fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18 FDG), and caring for patients in this setting.

An educational program was developed together with the nurses in radiology for training radiation oncology nurses on care of patients undergoing PET/CT imaging. The nurse spent two 8-hour days shadowing the radiology nurses in the PET center, and together as a team developed educational tools for the patients. The radiology nurses continue to serve as mentors for the radiation team, and this multidisciplinary approach has proven beneficial in our practice.

A cognitive test was given to the nurses in radiation oncology following their two days in radiology. They also had to perform administration of the FDG on at least six patients before being able to administer on their own.

The use of PET/CT in radiation therapy treatment planning will become more prominent in centers in the near future. Nurses working in these areas need to become experts in caring for patients undergoing this procedure.