Diagnosis of brain metastasis due to lung cancer and affecting factors at “Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo” General Hospital

Abstract

Background and objectives. The incidence of brain metastases is higher than primary brain tumors, with lung cancer as a common etiology at “Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo” General Hospital. Delay in diagnosis can cause brain herniation, resulting in disability and death. We aimed to investigate the compatibility between daily clinical practice and clinical practice guidelines for diagnosing brain metastases due to lung cancer at “Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo” General Hospital while also examining factors that might influence the duration of the diagnosis. Materials and methods. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine the conformity between the duration of diagnosis of metastatic brain tumors due to lung cancer in daily clinical practice with clinical practice guidelines. Secondary data was obtained from medical records from November 2021 until June 2022. Results. Twelve subjects (30%) were diagnosed with brain metastases from lung cancer within two weeks with a median duration of 18.5 days (IQR 12-34 days). The duration of 7 days (IQR 4-11 days) was required to obtain a lung mass, 8 days (IQR 4.5-13 days) to perform a biopsy, and 6 days (IQR 3.5-7 days) to obtain t pathology results. No statistically significant relationship exists between the variables assessed and the duration of diagnosis. Conclusions. The clinical practice guidelines at “Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo” General Hospital for diagnosing brain metastases from lung cancer within two weeks could only be carried out in 30% of subjects in this study. Collaboration between departments is needed to make the diagnosis faster.