Outcomes among patients with pancreatic malignancy on long-term anticoagulation hospitalized for acute pulmonary embolism: A nationwide analysis.

Abstract

e16266 Background: Pancreatic cancer is known to have an increased risk of thromboembolic events. Acute pulmonary embolism further complicates the clinical picture and confers a poor prognosis in this population. Data regarding prophylactic anticoagulation in patients with pancreatic malignancy is lacking, although there is evidence that prophylaxis does reduce incidence of venous thromboembolism in pancreatic malignancy. Whether this benefit equates to improved clinical outcomes needs further clarification. Methods: We utilized the 2018-2020 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) Database in conducting a retrospective cohort study. We identified patients who have pancreatic malignancy and acute pulmonary embolism using appropriate ICD-10 CM codes. We stratified patients based on the presence or absence of long-term anticoagulation. A survey multivariable logistic and linear regression analysis was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for the primary and secondary outcomes. A p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The aim of this study is to investigate the outcomes among patients with pancreatic malignancy hospitalized for acute pulmonary embolism looking primarily at the in-hospital mortality, hospital length of stay (LOS) as well as total hospital charges. Results: We identified a total of 160,000 hospitalized patients with acute pulmonary embolism, of which 0.6% (1,120/160,000) had malignant neoplasm of the pancreas and 20.09% (225/1120) are on long-term anticoagulation. The overall in-hospital mortality among those with pancreatic malignancy hospitalized for acute PE was 5.91% (66/1,120). Among those who are on long-term anticoagulation, the overall in-hospital mortality rate was lower at 4.44% (10/225), however, it was not significantly different from those who are not on anticoagulation 6.29% (14/225) (p value=0.64). Utilizing a stepwise survey multivariable logistic regression model that adjusted for patient and hospital level confounders, the use of long-term anticoagulation among hospitalized acute PE patients with history of pancreatic malignancy did not significantly decrease risk for in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR 0.37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.09-1.57; p=0.18), hospital LOS (adjusted OR 0.80; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63-10.26; p=0.86) or total hospital charges (p=0.32). Conclusions: Our analysis showed that among patients with pancreatic malignancy hospitalized for acute pulmonary embolism, the use of prior long-term anticoagulation did not significantly decrease the risk for in-hospital mortality, hospital LOS as well as total hospital charges. Prospective studies with control of possible confounders are warranted to further clarify the use of prophylactic anticoagulation in pancreatic malignancy and its impact on outcomes.