Telephone triage of suspected head and neck cancer patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic using the Head and Neck Cancer Risk Calculator version 2.

Abstract

Utilisation of the Head and Neck Cancer Risk Calculator version 2 has been recommended during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic for the assessment of head and neck cancer referrals. As limited data were available, this study was conducted to analyse the use of the Head and Neck Cancer Risk Calculator version 2 in clinical practice. Patients undergoing telephone triage in a two-week wait referral clinic were included. Data were collected and analysed using appropriate methods. Sixty-four patients in the study were risk-stratified into low-risk (51.6 per cent, 33 of 64), moderate-risk (14.1 per cent, 9 of 64) and high-risk (34.4 per cent, 22 of 64) groups. Of the patients, 53.1 per cent (34 of 64) avoided an urgent hospital visit, and 96.9 per cent (62 of 64) were cancer free, while 3.1 per cent (2 of 64) were found to have a head and neck malignancy. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and accuracy were 50.00 per cent, 66.13 per cent, 99.92 per cent and 66.11 per cent, respectively. It is reasonable to use the calculator for triaging purposes, but it must always be accompanied by a meticulous clinical thought process.