Ryan Nipp, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses the correlation between symptom burden and length of hospital stay for patients with cancer.

Nipp and colleagues conducted a study to answer the question, “Do symptoms predict the length of a hospital stay?” Patients rated nausea, pain, and fatigue on a 1 to 10 scale, and those who had 12 or more symptoms were also asked about anxiety and depression. It was found that nearly every symptom predicts for length of hospital stay. Those who had more symptoms stayed longer, and those who had anxiety/depression, on average, stayed a day longer than those who did not.

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Ryan Nipp on the Correlation Between Symptom Burden and Length of Hospital Stay

Ryan Nipp, MD, oncology fellow, Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses a study of symptom burden and hospital length of stay in patients with incurable cancer. This study was presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

The objective of this study was to identify how long patients would need to stay at the hospital once admitted. In the study, researchers controlled for covariates (age, gender, cancer type, etc.) and then singled in on specific symptoms.

Pain, nausea, and fatigue all predicted length of stay individually, Nipp says—a finding that will add fuel future intervention studies. Further, pain and depression&mdash;if positive for either symptom&mdash;both added a full day of hospital stay. On a large scale, one extra day in the hospital can have a big effect on quality of life for a patient, cost effectiveness, and more.

Ryan Nipp, MD, discusses a study of symptom burden and hospital length of stay in patients with incurable cancer.

Ryan Nipp, MD

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