1 in 3 Cancer Patients Visit Emergency Department 90 Days Before Diagnosis: Study Reveals - Video

About 1 in 3 patients diagnosed with cancer in Ontario visited an emergency department in the 90 days before diagnosis, found a new study published in Canadian Medical Association Journal.

In a study that included more than 650 000 patients diagnosed with cancer between 2014 and 2021 in Ontario, 35% had visited an emergency department in the 90 days before diagnosis. Among patients with emergency department visits before their

cancer diagnosis, 64% had visited once, 23% had visited twice and 13% had 3 or more visits. More than half of patients with an emergency department visit before diagnosis were admitted to hospital.

Most emergency department visits were related to symptoms of the type of cancer diagnosed. Patients later diagnosed with colorectal cancer had emergency department visits related to bowel obstruction and abdominal pain, and those with gastroesophageal cancer had emergency department visits related to gastrointestinal bleeding, difficulty swallowing, and abdominal pain. Patients with brain cancers had high odds of visiting the emergency department before diagnosis for weakness, confusion, or seizures.

Several patient groups were more likely to use the emergency department prior to a cancer diagnosis, including older adults, people from rural or northern areas, those living in marginalized neighbourhoods, people with multiple illnesses, and those diagnosed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients who had immigrated within the previous 5 years were less likely to use the emergency department before diagnosis.

Reference: Grewal, K., Calzavara, A., McLeod, S. L., Eskander, A., Savage, D. W., Thompson, C., Borgundvaag, B., Ovens, H., Cheskes, S., de Wit, K., Irish, J., Krzyzanowska, M. K., Walsh, R., Mohindra, R., Thiruganasambandamoorthy, V., & Sutradhar, R. (2024). Emergency department use before cancer diagnosis in Ontario, Canada: A population-based study. CMAJ, 196(37), E1252–E1261. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.240952