Hsu J, et al. - The national characteristics of emergency department (ED) visits by patients with cancer in the United States were described in this work. Approximately 4 million ED visits per year by patients with cancer were recorded. ED cancer patients, compared to non-cancer patients, were almost twice as likely to undergo CT scanning, four times more likely to present with sepsis, twice as likely to present with thrombosis, and three times more likely to be admitted to the hospital.

Methods

• From the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), 2012–2014 ED visit data was analyzed.
• Adult (age ≥ 18 years) ED patients, stratified by history of cancer were included.
• Researchers determined the annual number of adult ED visits by patients with cancer using the NHAMCS survey design and weighting variables.
• Demographics, clinical characteristics, ED resource utilization, and disposition were compared of cancer vs non-cancer patients.

Results

• Researchers noted 104,836,398 annual ED visits.
• In this study, patients with cancer accounted for an estimated 3,879,665 (95% CI: 3,416,435–4,342,895) annual ED visits.
• ED patients with cancer vs other ED patients were older (mean 64.8 vs 45.4 years), more likely to arrive by emergency medical services (28.0 vs 16.9%), and experienced longer lengths of ED stay (mean 4.9 vs 3.8 h).
• Radiologic imaging was performed in over 65% of ED patients with cancer.
• ED cancer patients, compared to non-cancer patients, were almost twice as likely to undergo CT scanning; four times more likely to present with sepsis; twice as likely to present with thrombosis, and three times more likely to be admitted to the hospital.