Abstract
Background: Radiation pneumonitis (RP) is a dose-limiting and potentially fatal toxicity of thoracic radiotherapy most often seen in patients treated for primary lung cancer. The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of in-hospital death among lung cancer patients admitted for acute RP in the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) database. Materials and Methods: The HCUP National Inpatient Sample database was queried from 2012 through 2016 to capture adult lung cancer patients admitted to the hospital with a principal diagnosis of acute RP. Multivariate logistic regression modeling and χ2 tests were used to determine predictors of in-hospital death. Results: Of the 882 patients with lung cancer admitted for RP, 67 patients (7.6%) died during the hospitalization and 90 patients (10.2%) required mechanical ventilation. Of those requiring mechanical ventilation, 38 patients (42.2%) died. The average age at hospitalization was 70.4 years (range, 35-90). Of those factors associated with death on univariate analysis, interstitial lung disease (odds ratio [OR] = 6.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.9-19.4; P = .002), pulmonary hypertension (OR = 3.1; 95% CI, 1.6-6.2; P = .001), diabetes mellitus (OR = 2.0; 95% CI, 1.1-3.3; P = .013), and more affluent Zip Code (OR = 1.9; 95% CI, 1.1-3.2; P = .021) remained statistically significant on multivariate logistic regression. Conclusion: In the largest reported cohort of patients with lung cancer hospitalized with a principal diagnosis of acute RP, the presence of interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and more affluent Zip Code were associated with in-hospital death. Comorbid diagnoses may be useful for risk-stratified management of inpatients with RP. © 2021