Abstract
e19118 Background: For patients being treated for solid tumor malignancies, an unplanned hospitalization is a significant event that may help predict outcomes. Prior studies have demonstrated a 1 year mortality rate as high as 73% for oncology patients following an unplanned admission. As our therapies continue to improve, better understanding of the significance of acute hospitalizations is needed to help influence management decisions for oncology providers. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of all patients admitted to a solid oncology inpatient service at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH) who were discharged between January 1st and March 31st 2019. We excluded all patients who had not established care with a provider at TJUH prior to the index admission. We collected data on age, sex, length of stay (LOS), diagnosis, treatment activity, ECOG performance status (PS), 30 day and total re-admissions, survival and whether hospice was discussed during index admission. We censored data at 180 days after date of index discharge. We evaluated overall survival (OS) using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared survival to 30-day readmission and ECOG status using a log-rank test. Results: During our investigational time period there were 263 discharges, which yielded a study population of 182 patients. Median LOS was 5 days and 55% of patients were female. Gastrointestinal and genitourinary cancers were the most prevalent, observed in 32% and 28% of patients respectively. 75% of patients were on active treatment at time of admission. Survival data was available in 174 patients and at 6 months, OS was found to be 47%. 35% of patients were readmitted within 30 days of their index discharge. Patients readmitted within 30 days had a significantly lower OS than patients without a readmission (31% vs. 56%, P = 0.002). 70% of patients had a PS of 0 or 1 prior to index admission and OS in this group was significantly better in comparison to patients with a higher ECOG score (57% vs. 33%, P = 0.001). Hospice was discussed with 31% patients during index admission. Conclusions: We observed a 6 month overall survival of 47% following an unplanned admission and this was lower for patients that were re-admitted within 30 days. Higher PS scores predicted worse outcomes; however, the majority of patients had a favorable PS prior to index admission. This study suggests that following an unplanned admission, oncology patients are at elevated risk for poor outcomes and that providers should reassess goals of care at follow up clinic visits.
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