One-third of patients with cancer visit emergency departments in months before diagnosis, finds study

From Medical XPress:

About 1 in 3 patients diagnosed with cancer in Ontario visited an emergency department (ED) in the 90 days before diagnosis, found a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

In a study that included more than 650,000 patients diagnosed with cancer between 2014 and 2021 in Ontario, 35% (229,683) had visited an ED in the 90 days before diagnosis. Among patients with ED visits before their cancer diagnosis, 64% had visited once, 23% had visited twice and 13% had three or more visits. More than half (51%) of patients with an ED visit before diagnosis were admitted to hospital.