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Although cancer survival rates have increased, serious infection complications can arise in cancer patients.
A retrospective study was conducted in adult patients with cancer admitted to the intensive care unit between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2015.
The predictive factors for mortality included the use of steroids, use of a central venous catheter or mechanical ventilator, and identification of
The present study shows that invasive procedures, bloodstream infections, and the use of steroids increase the risk of mortality in
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Understanding factors affecting advanced stage at diagnosis is vital to improve cancer outcomes and overall survival. We investigated the factors affecting later-stage cancer diagnosis.
Patients completed self-reported questionnaires. We collected cancer stage data from medical records review. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with later stage cancer at diagnosis by gender.
In total, 1,870 cancer patients were included in the study; 55.8% were men, 31.1% had more than one comorbid condition, and 63.5% had disabilities. About half of the patients were smokers, and drank alcohol, and 58.0% were diagnosed at an advanced stage. By cancer type, lung and liver cancers (both genders), prostate (men), colorectal, cervical, and thyroid cancer (women) were more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage. After controlling for socioeconomic factors, comorbidity (odds ratio [OR], 1.48 in men) and disability (OR, 1.64 in men and 1.52 in women) remained significantly associated with late-stage diagnosis.
In this nationwide study, using combined information from patients and medical records, we found that male patients with comorbidities or disabilities, and female patients with disabilities were more likely to have advanced stage cancer at diagnosis. Targeted approaches by cancer type and health conditions are recommended.
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To evaluate associations between hospital volume, costs, and length of stay (LOS), and clinical and demographic outcome factors for five types of cancer resection. The main dependent variables were cost and LOS; the primary independent variable was volume.
Data were obtained from claims submitted to the Korean National Health Insurance scheme. We identified patients who underwent the following surgical procedures: pneumonectomy, colectomy, mastectomy, cystectomy, and esophagectomy. Hospital volumes were divided into quartiles.
Independent predictors of high costs and long LOS included old age, low health insurance contribution, non-metropolitan residents, emergency admission, Charlson score > 2, public hospital ownership, and teaching hospitals. After adjusting for relevant factors, there was an inverse relationship between volume and costs/LOS. The highest volume hospitals had the lowest procedure costs and LOS. However, this was not observed for cystectomy.
Our findings suggest an association between patient and clinical factors and greater costs and LOS per surgical oncologic procedure, with the exception of cystectomy. Yet, there were no clear associations between hospitals’ cost of care and risk-adjusted mortality.
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