Racial disparities in hospitalization outcomes among patients with cholangiocarcinoma.

Abstract

6631 Background: Studies have reported on the rising incidence and mortality outcomes among patients diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) but racial disparities in outcomes among inpatients have not been explored in this population. We examined the racial disparities in outcomes among adult hospitalized patients with a diagnosis of CCA. Methods: Retrospective cohort analyses were conducted using data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS), 2016-2020. Multivariate logistic and linear regression models were used to examine the association between race/ethnicity and patient disposition, length of stay, elective admissions, and total hospital charges. Results: In the adjusted analyses, while Black patients had 14% higher odds (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.04–1.25) of being discharged to a facility/home with home health care versus routine discharge when compared to their White counterparts, Hispanics had 14% lower odds (95% CI: 0.79–0.95). Black patients had 39% higher risk (95% CI: 1.19–1.63) of death versus routine discharge relative to the White patients. Compared to White patients, Blacks (AOR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.13–1.34), Hispanics (AOR: 1.15; 1.06–1.25) and other race/ethnicities (AOR: 1.20; 1.10–1.31) were more likely to have a length of hospital stay greater than 5 days relative to 5 days or less. Hispanics (β: $16,789; 95% CI: $11,480–$22,099) were found to have higher total hospital charges when compared to the White CCA patients. Additionally, Black (AOR: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.60–0.78) and Hispanic patients (AOR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.77–0.99) were less likely to be admitted electively to the hospital. Conclusions: Despite advances made in treatment of patients with CCA, the prognosis remains poor. We report disparities in various hospitalization outcomes among adult patients with a diagnosis of CCA. Health care providers need to be aware that these disparities exist and health policies should be implemented to narrow the gap in existing disparities. [Table: see text]