Infectious disease consultations and newly diagnosed cancer patients: A single-center retrospective observational study

Noninfectious diseases may be diagnosed during infectious disease (ID) consultations. Among non-IDs, cancer diagnosis is important; however, epidemiological data describing the relationship between ID consultations and newly diagnosed cancer patients are scarce. This study described the frequency and tendency of new cancer diagnoses in patients after ID consultation. This retrospective study included adult inpatients who underwent ID consultations between October 2016 and March 2018. The demographic data and clinical manifestations of each case are described. Among the 380 inpatients who underwent ID consultations, 6 (1.6%) received a new cancer diagnosis after ID consultation. Among the initial most likely diagnoses, 3 patients were diagnosed with IDs and 3 were diagnosed with non-IDs. The initial most likely ID diagnosis was important for new cancer diagnoses (P = .004, odds ratio: 11.1, 95% confidence interval: 2.11–57.2); diagnostic errors, as judged by the physicians, occurred in 2 of the 6 cases. While the frequency of establishing new diagnoses during ID consultations is low, coexisting infection and cancer is possible. ID specialists should identify any patterns related to new cancer diagnosis in patients to prevent diagnostic error and improve the quality of diagnosis.