Hospital Admission Less than 30 Days after Chemotherapy: Results from a Chemotherapy-Specific Morbidity and Mortality Conference in Gynecologic Oncology

Abstract

Introduction: Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) rounds can identify adverse events and improve patient safety however adoption in cancer centers is not routine. Herein we report the results of a chemotherapy-specific gynecologic oncology M&M rounds and identify reasons for hospital admission Methods: Between July 2014 and April 2016, all admissions Results: 585 patients were admitted, 78% of whom had ovarian cancer and 43% of whom had recurrent disease. Overall, 47% of admissions were unplanned and these were significantly longer than planned admissions (5.6 vs. 2.4 days, p = 0.0003). Of unplanned admissions, 43% were due to chemotherapy, and 57% were due to disease burden. 74% of patients had received >1 prior line of chemotherapy, and 22% were on clinical trial. The most common causes of unplanned admission were nausea, vomiting or failure to thrive (28.9%), fever (17.9%) and small bowel obstruction (19.9%). Conclusions: There is a high rate of unplanned admission