Table 1.
Clinical characteristics and outcomes for hospitalized patients with solid tumor malignancies
| Patients (n = 103) | Potentially avoidable hospitalization | P-valuea | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (n = 24) | No (n = 77) | |||
| Age | ||||
| Median (range), years | 64 (25-86) | 67 (47 - 86) | 63 (25 - 83) | - |
| Mean, years | 62.5 | 67.2 | 61.0 | 0.05 |
| Female sex | 55 (53) | 12 (50) | 43 (54) | 0.70 |
| Metastatic cancer | 81 (79) | 19 (79) | 62 (78) | 0.94 |
| Primary cancer site | 0.07 | |||
| Lung | 18 (17) | 8 (33) | 10 (13) | |
| Breast | 12 (12) | 1 (4) | 11 (14) | |
| Colon or rectum | 11 (11) | 2 (8) | 9 (11) | |
| Otherb | 62 (60) | 13 (54) | 49 (48) | |
| Interval since last outpatient visit | ||||
| Median (range), days | 7 (0 - 88) | 6 (0 - 88) | 7 (0 - 81) | - |
| Mean, days | 13.0 | 13.0 | 12.9 | 0.97 |
| Reason for hospitalization | 0.02 | |||
| Cancer-related symptom | 58 (56) | 11 (45) | 47 (59) | |
| Side-effect of cancer treatment | 29 (28) | 7 (29) | 22 (28) | |
| Non-cancer medical condition | 7 (7) | 5 (21) | 2 (3) | |
| Planned hospitalization | 9(9) | 1 (4) | 8 (10) | |
| Clinical status prior to hospitalization | ||||
| ECOG performance status 2 or >c | 33 (32) | 11 (46) | 22 (28) | 0.10 |
| Appropriate for hospicec | 21 (21) | 6 (25) | 15 (20) | 0.80 |
| Enrolled in hospice | 3 (3) | 1 (4) | 2 (3) | 0.64 |
| Psychosocial attributesc | ||||
| Below- average social support | 14 (14) | 4 (17) | 10 (13) | 0.62 |
| Below- average illness coping | 25 (25) | 6 (26) | 19 (24) | 0.84 |
| Below- average illness understanding | 16 (16) | 5 (21) | 11 (14) | 0.42 |
| Pyschosocial factors contributed to the reason for hospitalizationd | 27 (26) | 12 (50) | 15 (19) | 0.003 |
| Hospitalization outcomes | ||||
| Length of stay | ||||
| Median (range), days | 4 (<1 – 23) | 2 (<1 – 11) | 4 (<1 – 23) | - |
| Mean, days | 5.3 | 3.5 | 5.8 | 0.02 |
| 30-day readmissions | 29 (28) | 5 (21) | 24 (30) | 0.36 |
| 30-day deaths | 17 (17) | 3 (13) | 14 (18) | 0.55 |
Values expressed as number (percentage), except where noted otherwise.
a
Between-group comparisons were performed using the chi-squared test or the Wilcoxon non-parametric test. Associations were considered statistically significant when the p-value was less than 0.05.
b
All other primary cancer sites represented less than 10% of patients.
c
As assessed by the patient's outpatient oncologist.
d
As identified by two or more of three interviewed clinicians.