However, no information in the database provided any basis for formulating hypotheses or postulating causes, such as dose reduction, treatment delay, or patients or initial surgical characteristics.
Sometimes temporary restorations may have to function for an extended period of time as a result of unforeseen events such as laboratory delays or patient unavailability [ 4, 5].
Second, almost 30 40% of postoperative patients do not receive any adjuvant therapy either secondary to surgical complications and delayed recovery or patient refusal 14.
Unfortunately, the databases used in this study lack clinical data on treatment delay or the patients' nutritional status.
Patients remained on study unless they were discontinued because of disease progression, unacceptable adverse events, inadvertent enrollment, use of excluded concomitant therapy, cycle delay >42 days, or patient refusal.
In some areas, one commentator noted, "only 'urgent' treatment – cancer, fractures and A&E – are funded, and all other procedures are either delayed or the patient is denied funding".
"I can't deny that fewer logistical delays or higher patient volumes would have been welcomed by everyone on the team," he concluded, "but when we can undeniably save some lives, even if only a handful per deployment, while also easing suffering and providing hope for many others, I feel that the cost is justified".
We found that male cancer patients experienced longer doctor delays (OR 1.65, 95%CI 1.19 to 2.28) and system delays (OR 1.86, 95%CI 1.48 to 2.35), but not longer patient delays (OR 1.28, 95%CI 0.95 to 1.71) than female cancer patients (Table 2).
The reported ranges of average (median or mean) total delay, patient delay, health system delay were 25 185 days, 4.9 162 days and 2 87 days respectively for both low and high income countries.
d-days, w-weeks, m-months The reported average (median or mean) total delay, patient delay, health system delay for diagnosis of tuberculosis were ranging from 25 to185 days, 4.9 to 162 days and 2 to 87 days respectively in both LMICs and HICs together.
