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Abstract
Head and neck cancer patients are at high risk for dehydration during radiotherapy, which may lead to treatment breaks, hospital admissions, and impaired renal function. This retrospective study evaluated whether regularly scheduled intravenous hydration improves treatment outcomes. Medical records of 105 patients treated at Oregon Health & Science University were reviewed: 60 received scheduled hydration prior to August 2011, and 45 did not after August 2011. Outcomes included unplanned hospital admissions, treatment breaks, renal function, and hydration status. Poisson regression and t-tests were used for analysis. Patients receiving scheduled hydration had fewer unplanned hospital admissions and treatment breaks, and maintained better hydration and renal function compared to those without scheduled hydration. These findings suggest that proactive hydration may reduce treatment interruptions and improve clinical outcomes in head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.