Rates of emergency department visits and acute-care hospital admissions after starting chemotherapy or having surgery across six community-based cancer centers.

Authors

null

Michael J. Hassett

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA

Michael J. Hassett , Christine Cronin , Angela Tramontano , Sandra L. Wong , Hajime Uno , Roshan Paudel , Jessica J Bian , Don S. Dizon , Hannah W. Hazard-Jenkins , Raymond U. Osarogiagbon , Deborah Schrag

Organizations

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, MaineHealth Cancer Care, South Portland, ME, Lifespan Cancer Institute, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, WVU Cancer Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, Multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Program, Baptist Cancer Center, Memphis, TN, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Research Funding

U.S. National Institutes of Health
U.S. National Institutes of Health

Background: Cancer patients who start chemotherapy or have surgery are at risk for serious adverse events, which can include emergency department visits (EDV) and acute-care hospital admissions (ADM). These events are relevant to patients, clinicians, health systems, and policy makers. Few studies have described the frequency and predictors of EDVs and ADMs in the routine care setting. We sought to address this knowledge gap, and to describe the impact of the COVID pandemic on these events, using data from the SIMPRO consortium of six US-based health systems. Methods: In 2019, SIMPRO started a phased deployment of an electronic health record-integrated symptom management program (eSyM) as part of the routine care provided to patients with a suspected or confirmed gastrointestinal, thoracic, and gynecologic malignancy. eSyM prompts patients to complete symptom questionnaires and provides symptom management resources for 180 days after starting chemotherapy and 60 days following surgery. This analysis includes all patients, whether they used eSyM resources or not. Outcomes, which were measured using EHR-based encounter data, included the rates of EDVs and ADMs at 30 and 90-days after starting chemotherapy or following discharge from surgery. To account for potential confounding, we used multivariable logistic regression for the 30-day outcomes and Cox regression for the 90-day outcomes. Results: From September 2019-December 2022, 8664 patients started chemotherapy and 11,578 had surgery, with 3075 and 2587 patients, respectively, experiencing at least one outcome event (Table). 90-day outcomes varied significantly across health systems for chemotherapy (EDV 2-21%, ADM 5-28%) and surgery (EDV 7-14%, ADM 9-18%) patients. In multivariable analyses, patients who reported an employment status of disabled were more likely to report an EDV (OR 1.73-1.96) and an ADM (ORs 1.52-1.96). Widowed status was associated with greater odds of having an ADM (ORs 1.29-1.30), but not an EDV. Cox regression found chemotherapy recipients experienced lower hazards of an EDV, but not an ADM, during 2020 (coinciding with the start of the COVID pandemic). For surgery patients, there was no significant association between calendar year and EDVs or ADMs. [p<0.001 for all reported values]. Conclusions: A meaningful proportion of patients who started chemotherapy or had surgery for a suspected or confirmed malignancy in the routine-care setting had an EDV or ADM within 90 days. Most events occurred within 30 days. Further work is required to ascertain how many of these encounters are avoidable and what structural or procedural interventions could improve outcomes. Clinical trial information: NCT03850912.

Chemotherapy Patients (N=8664)Surgery Patients (N=11,578)
PercentPercent
Age(median)(67)(63)
SexFemale5469
RaceNon-white2110
EDVs30 days7.35.4
90 days13.99.5
ADMs30 days10.68.0
90 days21.612.9

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2023 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Health Services Research and Quality Improvement

Track

Quality Care/Health Services Research

Sub Track

Real-World Data/Outcomes

Clinical Trial Registration Number

NCT03850912

Citation

J Clin Oncol 41, 2023 (suppl 16; abstr 6621)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.6621

Abstract #

6621

Poster Bd #

113

Abstract Disclosures

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