Cancer patients are 10 times more likely to develop sepsis and die than non-cancer patients, say researchers.
Sepsis is caused by the body's immune system reacting dramatically to an infection and can be fatal. Signs and symptoms of sepsis include a high fever, a rapid heart rate, breathing difficulty, and confusion. It most often occurs in older people, younger children, and people with weakened immune systems or certain health issues.
New health economics research led by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the University of Melbourne has found sepsis can double the costs of cancer care.
"Our best estimates are cancer patients are 10 times more likely to develop sepsis and die than non-cancer patients, due to their existing disease and the treatments they are receiving," said senior author Karin Thursky.
An infectious diseases expert and Associate Director of Health Services Research at Peter Mac's, Professor Thursky has pioneered programs to better recognise and manage sepsis in cancer patients.
The study uses Canadian data to track the impact of the overall use of public health services by more than 75,000 cancer patients with sepsis over five years.
The researchers could then estimate the short, and long-term, costs of their care. For example, the additional cost of caring for a patient with a solid tumour who developed sepsis was over $65,000 (AUD) over five years, and over $81,500 (AUD) for a patient with blood cancer.
"Studies like this show how important health economics research is to improve health service delivery for our patients," said Professor Thursky.
"By quantifying the economic burden of sepsis in cancer patients we have an indication of the extent of the costs associated with sepsis, and this can be used to better align resources for more efficient care of our patients," said lead author and health economist Dr Michelle Tew, a researcher at both Peter Mac and the University of Melbourne.