Health care utilization and patient-related outcomes in patients with malignant bowel obstruction admitted to a United States safety net hospital.

Abstract

50 Background: Malignant bowel obstruction (MBO) and gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) can be a late complication of intra-abdominal malignancy with a poor prognosis. Most studies about its outcomes have focused on survival. There is paucity of studies assessing health care utilization and end of life care decisions. Methods: We retrospectively collected data from the electronic medical record of patients admitted with MBO or GOO at a safety-net hospital in Chicago, US between January 2013 and December 2017. The charts were analyzed for outcomes related to end of life care and health care utilization. The outcomes were compared by across three broad treatment arms: those that received surgical intervention, those that received venting gastrostomy (VG) and those that were treated medically alone. Results: Forty-six patients were identified of which 31 were admitted with MBO. 25 (54%) of them were due to stage IV cancers. Mean age of study population was 61 years. Surgical management, VG and medical management were done in 17, 8 and 21 patients respectively. There was no difference in ICU admission rate, length of stay of index admission, 90 day-readmission rate or mean visits to the ER between the groups. Patients receiving venting gastrostomy tube had highest rate of oral solid food tolerability. Twenty-eight patients died or were enrolled in hospice within a median of 115 days. Conclusions: All modalities of treatment had similar health utilization measures in patients with MBO and GOO. Surgical management, if feasible, has the longest time to hospice enrollment or death and should be offered to patients who are suitable. [Table: see text]