Health Professionals’ Preferences With the Use of Pegfilgrastim On-Body Injector At Oncology Centers in 8 Cities in Colombia.

Abstract Purpose Febrile neutropenia associated with some chemotherapy regimens can lead to potentially fatal complications and high health care costs. Administration of Pegfilgrastim 27 hours after chemotherapy, using an On-Body Injector (OBI), may be more convenient for cancer patients and physicians. This study aims to describe physician and nurse preferences regarding options for administration of Pegfilgrastim at cancer centers, the demographics of the study population and characteristics of participating cancer centers. We aim to determine the conditions and chemotherapy schemes for which Pegfilgrastim is most frequently prescribed. Methods Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study and survey, conducted between 2019 and 2020. It included 60 participants who were contacted and surveyed via telephone. Results Information from 60 participants was analyzed. It was found that 35% of the respondents are haemato-oncologists, oncologists or hematologists, 30% general practitioners, and 35% are other healthcare professionals (i.e., nurse, oncology nurse and head nurse). 48.02% of professionals give priority to the use of OBI to treat patients at home; among the reasons for this choice the patient's transportation limitations and the release of the nursing staff to attend to another patient in the patient's absence stand out. Conclusions The present study is the first one in Colombia that sought the preferences of healthcare professionals with the use of Neulastim (OBI) compared to pre-filled syringes for the administration of Pegfilgrastim. Our results suggest OBI is the preferred alternative by most HCPs and a good resource optimization strategy in the context of cancer patients’ health care in Colombia.