Inpatient cancer rehabilitation: a retrospective comparison of transfer back to acute care between patients with neoplasm and other rehabilitation patients.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether patients with diagnoses of neoplasm undergoing acute rehabilitation differ from other patients in frequency of acute care transfer and type of medical complications.


METHODS
Retrospective cohort analysis.


METHODS
Acute rehabilitation hospital located within an academic medical center.


METHODS
Patients with diagnosis of neoplasm (n=40) and patients without neoplasm (n=253) requiring transfer were identified from a database of 2801 rehabilitation discharges over nearly a 4-year period.


METHODS
Not applicable.


METHODS
Frequency of unplanned transfer and reasons for the transfer.


RESULTS
Significant difference occurred in overall rate of transfer between patients with neoplasm (21%) and controls (9.7%; P<.001). When evaluated separately for type of neoplasm (with patients receiving corresponding type of rehabilitation as controls), a significantly higher rate of transfer to acute care was found for brain tumor (25% vs 12%; P=.004) and spinal cord neoplasms (23% vs 10%; P=.009), but statistical significance was not reached for other tumor types (12.5% vs 7.4%; P=.19). Patients with stroke with neoplasm as a comorbidity, analyzed separately, with the other patients with stroke as controls, had significantly higher risk of transfer (22% vs 10%; P=.012). Logistic regression analysis found an odds ratio (OR) of 2.5 for unplanned transfer among patients with diagnosis of neoplasm (OR=2.5 for malignancy; OR=2.4 for benign neoplasm). Patients with neoplasm had infection as the most common reason for transfer (28% of the neoplasm transfers vs 18% of other transfers; P=.01), whereas in the nonneoplasm group, cardiopulmonary factors predominated (12% of patients with tumor vs 31% of patients without tumor transfers; P<.001).


CONCLUSIONS
In the present sample, patients with neoplasm were more likely to require transfer than patients without neoplasm, although this pattern did not reach statistical significance for noncentral nervous system cases. Overall, patients with neoplasm appear more likely than those without neoplasm to have an infectious cause for unplanned transfer. Increased awareness of this difference may lead to improved medical management on rehabilitation units.
Alam
Ehsan
E
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Case Western Reserve University, MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute of Ohio, Cleveland, OH 44109, USA.
Wilson
Richard D
RD
Vargo
Mary M
MM
D000368:Aged; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003422:Critical Care; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010360:Patient Transfer; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology