Worsened outcomes of newly diagnosed cancer in patients with recent emergency care visits: A retrospective cohort study of 3699 adults in a safety net health system

INTRODUCTION: Many patients receive a suspected diagnosis of cancer through an emergency department (ED) visit. Time to treatment for a new diagnosis of cancer is directly associated with improved outcomes with little no describing the ED utilization prior to the diagnosis of cancer. We hypothesize that patients that have an ED visit in proximity to a diagnosis of cancer will have worse outcomes, including mortality. METHODS: This study is a retrospective cohort study of all patients with cancer diagnosed at Eskenazi Health (Indiana) between 2016 and 2019. Individual health characteristics, ED utilization, cancer types, and mortality were studied. We compared those patients seen in the ED within 6 months prior to their diagnosis (cases) to patients not seen in the ED (controls). RESULTS: A total of 3699 patients with cancer were included, with 1239 cases (33.50%). Patients of black race had higher frequencies in the cases vs. controls (46.57% vs. 40.68%). Lung cancer was the most frequently observed cancer among cases vs. controls (11.70% vs. 5.57%). For the cases, 232 patients were deceased (18.72%) compared with 247 patients among the controls (10.04%, p < 0.0001, OR 2.06 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.70–2.51). An ED visit in past 6 months (OR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.38–2.18) and Medicaid insurance type (versus commercial, OR = 4.16, 95% CI 2.45–7.07) were associated with of mortality. Female gender (OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.67–0.88), tobacco use (OR = 1.62, 95% CI 138–1.90), and Medicaid insurance type (versus commercial, OR = 2.56, 95% CI 2.07–3.47) were associated with prior ED use. CONCLUSIONS: Over one third of patients with cancer were seen in the ED within 6 months prior to their cancer diagnosis. Higher mortality rates were observed for those seen in the ED. Future studies are needed to investigate the association and impact that the ED has on eventual cancer diagnoses and outcomes.