ABSTRACT
Background and objective The prognosis of pancreatic cancer (PC) is generally poor. PC responds only modestly to chemotherapy and chemoradiation, and surgical resection remains the only curative option. The risk of recurrence is high. PC patients are encountered in the hospital on initial diagnosis and later for surgeries and complications from PC. We analyzed PC hospitalizations in the United States as reported in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2005 to 2011 to determine the extent to which aggressive interventions could be avoided, thereby decreasing the cost of hospitalization. We analyzed trends in palliative care utilization and hospice services. Methods The International Classification of Disease 9th Revision (ICD-9) codes were used to identify diagnoses and procedures performed. Weighted analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics 28.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Dispositions at discharge were noted. Complications and procedures performed were also documented. Results A total of 574,522 cases with PC were identified. Trends are reported chronologically (2005 to 2011). Over time, inpatient deaths for PC have decreased (11.2%, 11.1%, 9.8%, 9.8%, 9.5%, 8.4%, 8.1%; p<0.001), and hospice discharges (HD) have increased (10.2%, 11.4%, 11.4%, 12,2%, 12.6%, 12.4%, 12.7%; p<0.001). Palliative care utilization has increased (2.9%, 3.9%, 3.8%, 5.6%, 8.8%, 10.2%, 11.9%; p<0.001). Complications including peritonitis, thrombosis, hypovolemia/shock, and acute kidney injury (AKI) have increased mortality rates and HD. Conclusion There is an increasing trend of palliative care and hospice service utilization among hospitalized PC patients. Until better-targeted treatments and screening become available, mortality and morbidity will remain high. The proportion of patients receiving aggressive interventions remains high and is associated with poor outcomes. It is desirable to conduct palliative care evaluation (PCE) early in patients with advanced disease and avoid aggressive interventions.
ABSTRACT
Background: Performing colonoscopy within 24 h of presentation to the hospital is the accepted standard of care for patients with an acute lower gastrointestinal bleed (LGIB). Previous studies have failed to demonstrate the benefit of early colonoscopy (EC) on mortality. In this study, we wanted to see if there was a change in inpatient deaths (primary outcome), length of stay (LOS), and hospitalization charges (TOTCHG) (secondary outcomes) with EC compared to previous studies. Methods: Adults diagnosed with LGIB were identified using the International Classification of Disease 10th Revision codes from the National Inpatient Sample database for 2016 to 2019. EC was defined as the procedure performed within 24 h of hospitalization. Delayed colonoscopy (DC) was defined as a procedure performed after 24 h of presentation. The patient population was divided into EC and DC groups, and the effects of several covariates on outcomes were measured using binary logistic and multivariate regression analysis. Inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW) was performed to adjust for confounding covariates. Results: There were 1,549,065 cases diagnosed with LGIB, of which 285,165 cases (18.4%) received a colonoscopy. A total of 107,045 (6.9%) patients received early colonoscopies. EC was associated with decreased inpatient deaths (0.9% in EC, and 1.4% in DC, P < 0.001). However, upon IPTW, this difference was not present. EC was associated with a decreased LOS (median 3 days vs. 5 days, P < 0.001) and TOTCHG (median $32,037 vs. $44,092, P < 0.001). Weekend admissions (WA) were associated with fewer EC (31.6% in WA, and 39.5% in non-WA, P < 0.001). WA did not affect inpatient deaths. Conclusions: EC was not associated with decreased inpatient deaths. There was no difference in endoscopic interventions in both EC and DC groups. The difference in inpatient deaths observed between the two groups was not evident upon adjusting the results for confounders. EC was associated with a decreased LOS, and TOTCHG in patients with LGIB.
