Improved surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma with a primary care-oriented clinical reminder

Background & aims: Surveillance of patients with cirrhosis for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with liver ultrasound every 6 months has been linked to longer survival and greater use of definitive treatment. However, less than 20% of patients typically undergo routine surveillance.

Methods: We conducted a quasi-experimental study to assess whether a primary care-oriented, point-of-care clinical reminder improves HCC surveillance. Our study included patients with cirrhosis who made 1 or more primary care visits to 8 Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities over 18 months. Clinicians at 1 facility were sent a reminder to perform liver ultrasound assessments for patients with cirrhosis who had not received surveillance in the preceding 6 months. Outcomes included the proportion of patients receiving adequate HCC surveillance (defined as >2 instances of liver imaging >6 months apart) and HCC diagnosis and stage. Because it was a quality improvement project, this study did not require approval by an institutional review board under Federal law and VA policy.

Results: Baseline rates of adequate HCC surveillance were similar at all facilities (18.2% at the intervention site vs 16.1% elsewhere; P = .23). After the reminder was implemented, adequate surveillance at the intervention site (for 790 patients) increased by 51%, but was unchanged at the other facilities (for 2094 patients) (27.6% vs 17.5%; P < .001). Adequate surveillance occurred more often at the intervention site (adjusted odds ratio, 1.29; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.61; P = .02). A higher crude percentage of patients was diagnosed with HCC at the intervention site than elsewhere (3.2% vs 1.9%; P = .03). We detected no difference in tumor stage at diagnosis.

Conclusions: In a VA population, a clinical reminder system increased HCC surveillance in patients with cirrhosis.