Hospitalized lung cancer patients who had venous thromboembolisms had significantly worse outcomes than did other patients, according to a study published in Lung Cancer.
Of the more than 570,000 included lung cancer patient hospitalizations, just over 3.6% also presented with venous thromboembolisms (VTE). Patients with VTE had a longer length of stay (7.15 days vs. 6.05 days), higher inpatient mortality (10.03% vs. 8.69%), greater hospital costs ($43,800 vs. $37,800), and were more likely to have moderate to severe disability after being discharged (55% vs. 49%) than patients who did not have VTE. Blacks were also at a higher risk, comprising 13.07% of the VTE group but only 10.66% of the non-VTE group, reported Dr. Conor Steuer and his associates at Emory University, Atlanta.
The study results “highlight the need for prospective studies to clarify the impact of VTE complications in lung cancer patients and identify effective interventions to improve the poorer outcome observed in this population,” Dr. Steuer and his associates concluded.
Find the full study in Lung Cancer (doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2015.01.022).