An analysis of racial differences in mortality, length of stay, and costs in Hodgkin lymphoma using the National Inpatient Sample.

120 Background: Hodgkin lymphoma is projected to affect approximately 8,720 individuals and result in 1,150 deaths in 2025, according to the American Cancer Society. The disease is most commonly diagnosed in early adulthood, with a second peak in incidence occurring later in life. Hodgkin lymphoma continues to pose a notable financial burden on the healthcare system, and significant racial disparities persist. In this study, we aim to compare mortality rates, length of hospital stay (LOS), total hospital charges (THC), and hospice care utilization across different racial groups. Methods: We used the 2016–2020 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database to identify patients admitted with a primary diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma, based on relevant ICD-10 codes. Patients were categorized into four racial groups to examine epidemiological trends, demographic characteristics, LOS, THC, hospice care utilization, and mortality rates in those years. Results: A total of 19,465 patients were included in the study. Of these, 56.74% were White, 13.66% Black, 17.15% Hispanic, and 12.42% categorized as Other (including Asian or Pacific Islander, Native American, or other racial groups). Patient characteristics and mortality rates are summarized in the table. LOS was not statistically different across groups (p = 0.06), though the Other group had the longest average LOS at 11.11 days, compared to 10.07 days in White, 10.13 in Black, and 10.53 in Hispanic patients. The highest mean THC were observed in the Other group (173,201), followed by Hispanics (168,309), White patients (151,408), and Black patients (140,684), with a significant difference noted (p = 0.011). Hospice care utilization did not vary significantly by race: 11.27% of White, 10.34% of Black, 11.08% of Hispanic, and 8.06% of Other patients were discharged to hospice care (p = 0.2363). Conclusions: In this national inpatient analysis of Hodgkin lymphoma, we found no significant racial disparities in mortality, length of stay, or hospice care utilization. However, total hospital charges varied significantly, with the highest costs observed among patients in the Other racial group. These findings highlight the importance of continued attention to the economic burden of care and the need to explore underlying drivers of cost variation. The characteristics and epidemiology of the patients. Characteristics of the patients White Black Hispanic Other p values Female 43.31% 42.48% 38.02% 41.74% 0.1138 Age 42.43 37.89 37.76 36.5 < 0.001 CHF 4.26% 5.08% 4.04% 3.31% 0.5449 Sepsis 4.98% 5.64% 5.99% 5.17% 0.7557 ACS 0.14% 0.19% 0.15% 0.83% 0.0366 DM 9.64% 9.96% 12.57% 11.57% 0.1371 AKI 9.78% 12.22% 7.93% 8.06% 0.0443 Household income(quartile) < 0. 001 -1 st 20.43% 46.77% 35.18% 21.43% -2 nd 24.54% 20.91% 25.96% 20.35% -3 rd 26.8% 18.82% 21.97% 29.22% -4 th 28.23% 13.5% 16.9% 29% Mortality 2.72% 2.82% 2.25% 1.65% 0.5291