Oncological Pathology at Home: One Year of Experience

Abstract

Introduction: Neoplasia is considered the second disease with the highest morbidity and mortality. Hospital-level care is often unavoidable. The objective of Home Hospitalization (HH) is to minimize hospital complications and provide greater satisfaction to the patient and family/caregiver.

Material and Methods: This article reports one year of HH experience at the Unidade Local de Saúde of Castelo Branco with regard to patients with oncological pathology.

Results/Discussion: In the first year of HH, 99 patients were admitted, 22.2% (n = 22) of whom had oncological pathology. Sixty four percent were male and the average age was 65.9 years old (±12.8). The average hospital stay was 6.8 days (±3.4). Seventy seven percent had active cancer disease. The main existing neoplasias were: 31.8% lung, 22.7% hematological, 18.1% prostate and 13.6% breast. Of these, 58.8% were under chemotherapy and 17.6% had undergone recent surgery or radiation therapy. The main comorbidities found in these patients were: hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and chronic pain. The main reasons for hospitalization were: febrile neutropenia (36.3%), respiratory infection (27.2%) and pain control (13.6%). One patient died, one was transferred to hospital and three readmissions. Ninety days after discharge, 63.6% did not return to the hospital.

Conclusion: Hospitalization in patients with neoplasia is very common. These are at increased risk of suffering from in-hospital infections, which increases mortality. The HH is advantageous because it reduces complications and provides a better quality of life for patients, given that they are undergoing qualified treatment in their own home.