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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Sep 10.
Published in final edited form as: Cancer. 2015 Feb 27;121(12):2083–2089. doi: 10.1002/cncr.29262

Table 4.

Feeding tube use

CTRT RT Only
Outcome No. (%) No. (%) p-value
Feeding tube at any time after diagnosis 1,115 (74) 384 (50) <0.0001
Nutritional support 833 (55) 218 (28) <0.0001
    Long-term feeding tube use
    +1 year from initial claim 324 (22) 75 (10) <0.0001
    +2 years from initial claim 146 (10) 37 (5) <0.0001
Feeding tube post-treatment only 816 (54) 251 (32) <0.0001
Nutritional support 600 (40) 145 (19) <0.0001
    Long-term feeding tube use
    +1 year from initial claim 225 (15) 50 (6) <0.0001
    +2 years from initial claim 103 (7) 24 (3) 0.0002
Post-treatment rehabilitation 268 (33) 110(44) <0.002

Abbreviations: CTRT, chemoradiation; RT, radiation therapy

Notes: P-values from unadjusted Fisher’s exact test or chi-square test of association between treatment modality and feeding tube use. Claims for nutritional support identified only patients with a post-treatment claim for feeding tube placement. A Skilled Nursing Facility claim following the placement of the feeding tube was used as a proxy for post-treatment rehabilitation.