Prevalence and impact of complications on outcomes in patients hospitalized for oral and oropharyngeal cancer treatment

Abstract

Objective: We studied the association between presence of complications and hospitalization outcomes, including hospital charges, length of stay in hospital, and in-hospital mortality.

Methods: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample for 2008 was used. All hospital discharges with a primary diagnosis of oral and oropharyngeal cancers were selected. Presence of complications was determined by using ICD-9-CM codes. The association between the presence of complications and outcomes (hospital charges, length of stay, and in-hospital mortality) was examined by multivariable linear and multivariable logistic regression analyses. The effects of several patient- and hospital-related confounders were adjusted in the regression analyses.

Results: A total of 17,632 hospitalizations were attributed to oral and oropharyngeal cancers. A total of 519 (2.9%) patients died in the hospitals. The total hospitalization charges were close to $1.08 billion. Oral and oropharyngeal cancers accounted for 117,472 hospitalization days (mean length of stay 6.6 days). The overall complication rate was 14.95%. The most frequently present complication was hemorrhagic complications. Among the different complications, septicemia was associated with the worst outcomes. Patients with septicemia were associated with the highest odds for in-hospital mortality (OR = 13.06, 95% CI = 3.81-48.50, P = .0001).

Conclusions: Presence of complications was associated with poor outcomes, such as high in-hospital mortality rates, excess hospitalization charges, and longer length of stay in hospital. Among the different complications, septicemia was associated with the worst outcomes.