Table 1.
General characteristics of study patientsa
| Characteristic | Total (N = 1719) | QDU (1) OPs (n = 688) | QDU (2) OPs (n = 496) | Total OPs 1 (n = 1184) | IPs 2 (n = 535) | P value 1 vs 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 63.4 (17.4) | 62.7 (13.8) | 61.8 (11.5) | 62.3 (14.7) | 65.6 (12.2) | <.001 |
| Sex, n (%) | ||||||
| Females | 768 (44.6) | 318 (46.2) | 227 (45.8) | 545 (46.0) | 223 (41.7) | <.001 |
| Males | 951 (55.4) | 370 (53.8) | 269 (54.2) | 639 (54.0) | 312 (58.3) | <.001 |
| Clinical manifestations, n (%)b | ||||||
| Lymphadenopathy | 1112 (64.7) | 487 (70.8) | 358 (72.2) | 845 (71.4) | 267 (49.9) | <.001 |
| Systemic symptomsc | 449 (26.1) | 155 (22.5) | 103 (20.8) | 258 (21.8) | 191 (35.7) | <.001 |
| Pain symptomsd | 89 (5.2) | 26 (3.8) | 17 (3.4) | 43 (3.6) | 46 (8.6) | <.001 |
| Chest symptomse | 45 (2.6) | 14 (2.0) | 12 (2.4) | 26 (2.2) | 19 (3.6) | .128 |
| Other symptoms/signsf | 24 (1.4) | 6 (0.9) | 6 (1.2) | 12 (1.0) | 12 (2.2) | .139 |
| Referral sources, n (%) | ||||||
| Emergency department | 656 (38.2) | 182 (26.5) | 108 (21.8) | 290 (24.5) | 366 (68.4) | <.001 |
| Primary care | 1063 (61.8) | 506 (73.5) | 388 (78.2) | 894 (75.5) | 169 (31.6) | <.001 |
| Waiting time to first QDU visit/admission (days), mean (SD)g | 1.7 (0.8) | 1.8 (0.7) | 1.7 (1.1) | 0.6 (0.3) | <.001 | |
| Successive/first visit ratio | 2.29 | 2.12 | 2.22 | |||
| QDU time for diagnosis/admission time for diagnosis (days), mean (SD)h | 16.8 (2.5) | 15.4 (2.2) | 16.2 (2.7) | 12.3 (3.3) | <.001 | |
| Suspected/compatible lymphoma by FNAC, n (%)/total ni | 611 (65.3)/935 | 302 (67.3)/449 | 201 (63.4)/317 | 503 (65.7)/766 | 108 (63.9)/169 | .102 |
| Time to FNAC (days), mean (SD)j | 1.2 (0.9) | 1.5 (0.8) | 1.0 (0.5) | 1.3 (0.9) | 1.2 (0.6) | .183 |
| Time to excisional biopsy (days), mean (SD)k | 5.7 (1.7) | 7.5 (1.6) | 7.1 (1.4) | 7.4 (1.8) | 3.5 (1.1) | <.001 |
| Onward referrals, n (%) | ||||||
| Outpatient specialist clinics | 1622 (94.4) | 654 (95.1) | 476 (96.0) | 1130 (95.4) | 492 (92.0) | .046 |
| Primary care | 47 (2.7) | 21 (3.1) | 15 (3.0) | 36 (3.0) | 11 (2.1) | .169 |
| Palliative care | 50 (2.9) | 13 (1.9) | 5 (1.0) | 18 (1.5) | 32 (6.0) | <.001 |
Abbreviations: QDU (1) OPs cohort of outpatients from the quick diagnosis unit of the Hospital Clínic; QDU (2) OPs cohort of outpatients from the quick diagnosis unit of the Hospital of Bellvitge; Total OPs total number of outpatients from the quick diagnosis units of the Hospital Clínic and the Hospital of Bellvitge; IPs cohort of hospitalized patients of the Hospital Clínic; FNAC fine-needle aspiration cytology
aLymphoma subtypes are not included; bSingle or combined; cMainly include intense tiredness, abnormal sweating at night, unintentional weight loss, nausea, and anorexia; dMainly abdominal pain; eMainly include shortness of breath, cough, and sore throat; fInclude, among others, pruritus, bowel symptoms, unusually thirsty, fever, and incidental findings on imaging studies; gIntervals between referral and first QDU appointment and hospital admission, respectively; hIntervals between first QDU visit/hospital admission and excisional biopsies; in (%)/total n: actual number and percentage of cases relative to the total number of available cases; jInterval between ordering FNAC and the procedure being done; kInterval between ordering biopsy and the procedure being done Missing data: variables ‘waiting time to first QDU visit’ (total OPs = 19), ‘waiting time to admission’ (IPs = 10), ‘time to FNAC’ (total OPs = 24, IPs = 16), ‘time to excisional biopsy’ (total OPs = 6, IPs = 4)