LMIC-14. MAPPING THE REFERRAL PATH - HURDLES IN PEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMOR DIAGNOSIS: A PERSPECTIVE FROM TERTIARY CANCER CARE CENTRE IN A LOW MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRY

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND Delayed referral remains leads to worse outcomes for children with cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), especially for patients with brain tumors. Delay in treatment could be due to the ignorance from the families to seek health care advice or lack of awareness of primary care physician. METHODS A retrospective study was conducted to delineate the referral path of children with brain tumors who presented to our institution. Patients <18 years with brain tumors registered from June 2022-December 2023 were included. Patients with relapsed disease, second opinion, or partially treated in an outside institute prior to referral were excluded. Data were captured using a proforma after obtaining permission from Institutional ethics committee. RESULTS Thirty-one children were enrolled with a median age of 5 years (range: 0-17) with M: F ratio of 1.58:1. The most common diagnosis in this cohort was medulloblastoma in 13(42%) followed by high grade glioma in 7(22%) and low-grade glioma in 4 patients (13%). Twenty-four (77%) belonged to low socio-economic strata defined by Modified Kuppuswamy classification, of which 22 (71%) were hailing from rural area with median distance from cancer center being 121 miles (range: 4.34 -242). Median of 3 (range: 1-6) consultations were sought prior to being referred to us and about 11 (35%) had visited alternative system of medicine before consulting us. Mean delay from symptom onset to diagnosis was 52 days (range: 2-530) with healthcare seeking delay of 5.4 days (Range: 0-30) and health system delay of 46 days (range: 1-500). The factors influencing delay included rural background (p=0.04) and lower socioeconomic strata (p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS Health system delay was a major cause of delayed referral in our study. By improving awareness of the primary care physicians about symptomatology of pediatric brain tumors, the referral pathway can be expedited thereby improving the outcomes of these children.