Morbidity and measures of the diagnostic process in primary care for patients subsequently diagnosed with cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Background

There is uncertainty regarding how pre-existing conditions (morbidities) may influence the primary care investigation and management of individuals subsequently diagnosed with cancer.

Methods

We identified morbidities using information from both primary and secondary care records among 11,716 patients included in the English National Cancer Diagnosis Audit (NCDA) 2014. We examined variation in 5 measures of the diagnostic process (the primary care interval, diagnostic interval, number of pre-referral consultations, use of primary care-led investigations, and referral type) by both primary care- and hospital records-derived measures of morbidity.

Results

Morbidity prevalence recorded before cancer diagnosis was almost threefold greater using the primary care

SUBMITTER: Koo MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9295610 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature