Financial and clinical implications of palliative care utilization on hospitalized patients with breast cancer: Trends from the National Inpatient Sample.

325 Background: Enhanced screening and detection along with novel chemotherapeutic regimens have improved survival among patients with breast cancer. Palliative care plays an important role in both pain management as well as addressing individualized goals of care. Newer treatment options are often implemented in patients with advanced breast cancer and have the potential to cause further treatment related adverse effects. We aim to understand the impact of an inpatient palliative care encounter on outcomes among patients with breast cancer. Methods: We utilized the 2020 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) Database in conducting a retrospective cohort study. We identified hospitalized patients who have breast cancer and subsequently had a palliative care encounter using appropriate ICD-10 CM codes. We stratified patients based on whether they had a palliative care encounter during the hospitalization or not. A survey multivariable logistic and linear regression analysis was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for the primary and secondary outcomes. A p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: We identified a total of 24770 hospitalized patients with breast cancer, of which 8.70% (2155/24770) had an in-patient palliative care encounter. The overall in-hospital mortality among those with breast cancer was 3.37% (835/24770). Among those who had a palliative care encounter, the overall in-hospital mortality rate was significantly higher at 25.75% (555/2155) (p = < 0.001). Utilizing a stepwise survey multivariable logistic regression model that adjusted for patient and hospital level confounders, the inpatient palliative care encounter among hospitalized patients with breast cancer significantly increased the risk for in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR 17.01, 95% confidence interval [CI], 11.11-26.04; p = < 0.001), longer hospital LOS (coefficient 2.63, CI 1.56-3.70; p = 0.001), and lower total hospital charges (coefficient -$14893; CI –[$24071 – $5714], p = 0.001). Conclusions: Our analysis revealed that an in-hospital palliative care encounter among patients with breast cancer was associated with a significantly lower cost of healthcare utilization. We also noted a significantly higher in-hospital mortality and longer length of hospitalization among this subgroup utilizing palliative care. Caution should be exercised in interpreting these results as they may reflect uncontrolled and more advanced disease in patients requiring an inpatient palliative care consultation. Further prospective studies are needed to better understand the financial impact on healthcare utilization as well as short and long-term outcomes in this patient population.