Avoidable emergency department visits among palliative care cancer patients: novel insights from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East

Abstract Background Several studies emerging from developed countries have highlighted a significant number of potentially avoidable emergency department (ED) visits by cancer patients during the end-of-life period. However, there is a paucity of information from developing nations regarding palliative care practices and the utilization of the ED by palliative care patients. Herein, we aim to characterize ED admissions among patients receiving palliative care at our tertiary center in Saudi Arabia. Methods This is a retrospective, cross-sectional study evaluating ED visits amongst adult patients with advanced cancer who were receiving treatment under the palliative care department. This study took place over a period of 12 months from July 2021 through to July 2022. Three palliative care specialist physicians independently and blindly reviewed each patient’s ED visits and determined whether the visit was avoidable or unavoidable. Results A total of 243 patients were included in the final analysis, of which 189 (78.1%) patients had unavoidable visits and 53 (21.9%) patient visits were classified as avoidable. A significantly higher proportion of breast cancer patients presented with unavoidable admissions (14.3% vs. 3.8%, P = 0.037) compared to other cancer types. The incidence of dyspnea (23.8% vs. 5.7%, P < 0.001) and fevers/chills (23.3% vs. 5.7%, P = 0.005) was significantly higher in patients with unavoidable visits. Patients with avoidable visits had a significantly greater proportion of visits for dehydration (13.2% vs. 2.1%, P = 0.002). Notably, although hospital stay was significantly longer in the unavoidable group ( P = 0.045), mortality for palliative care patients—regardless of whether their ED visit was avoidable or unavoidable—was not statistically different ( P =-0.069). Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the largest and most comprehensive study from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East providing insights into the utilization of palliative care services in the region and the propensity of advanced cancer patients towards visiting the ED. Future studies ought to explore interventions to reduce the frequency of avoidable ED visits.