Emergency department involvement in the diagnosis of cancer among older adults: a SEER-Medicare study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Internationally, 20% to 50% of cancer is diagnosed through emergency presentation, which is associated with lower survival, poor patient experience, and socioeconomic disparities, but population-based evidence about emergency diagnosis in the United States is limited. We estimated emergency department (ED) involvement in the diagnosis of cancer in a nationally representative population of older US adults, and its association with sociodemographic, clinical, and tumor characteristics.

Methods

We analyzed Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program-Medicare data for Medicare beneficiaries (≥66 years old) with a diagnosis of female breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers (2008-2017), defining their earliest cancer-related claim as their index date, and

SUBMITTER: Thompson CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11193434 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature