The use of a mobile application to disseminate guidelines on cystic neoplasms of the pancreas - A snapshot study of 1000 case-simulations

Abstract

Background: No data exist on the actual application of pancreatic cystic neoplasm (PCN) guidelines in clinical practice.

Aim: Disseminate knowledge on existing PCN guidelines and determine which guidelines are prospectively chosen by iCyst app users for different case scenarios.

Methods: iCyst is a digital tool providing access to the three main existing guidelines (European, IAP, and AGA). Through a case simulation system, for one year, the app prospectively registered users' guideline choices.

Results: During the study period, 276 users downloaded iCyst and entered 1020 completed simulations. Most users were European (88%) and were either surgeons (69%) or gastroenterologists (29%). Six different representative scenarios were identified. Overall, the European guidelines were the most commonly preferred (52%). In 16% of cases, the users did not choose any of the available guidelines.

Conclusion: Digital apps can be used to disseminate guidelines in clinical practice. Guideline dissemination might serve as the basis for future research lines on specific clinical scenarios that iCyst identifies as critical.

Keywords: Guidelines; Mobile application; Pancreatic cystic neoplasms; iCyst.