Admission Pattern of Gastrointestinal Cancer for 2020-2023 From a Single Tertiary-Care Hospital in Pune, Western Maharashtra.

The prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) cancer is increasing across diverse regions of India, demanding further investigation at the state level. In response, a new department of surgical gastroenterology was started at a tertiary-care hospital in Pune, Western Maharashtra, in 2019. The objective of this study was to explore the pattern of admissions in terms of demographics and types of GI cancers over the last four years (i.e., 2020-2023). Retrospective admissions data were collected from hospital records for 2020-2023. A total of 2294 patients were treated at the outpatient department (OPD), and 135 patients were admitted to the inpatient department (IPD). The data comprised OPD/IPD admissions, age, gender, diagnosis, and length of stay (LoS). In addition to basic statistical reporting, t-tests were used to explore differences among the study variables. Out of 135 GI cancer patients, 57% were male. The mean age of inpatients per year ranged from 53 to 60 years, with an average age of 56.35 ± 10.14 years. The average LoS was 12.31 ± 9.39 days. From 2020 to 2023, the number of admissions increased from 5 to 57. The increase was more pronounced in men than women (57% vs. 43%, respectively). Furthermore, increased admission of younger patients was observed, and the average LoS decreased from 17 to 11 days from 2020 to 2023, respectively. A statistically significant difference in LoS (p = 0.023) was observed based on gender, where LoS was longer for women than for men on average (13.5 ± 10.8 vs. 9.46 ± 8.28, respectively). As GI cancer incidence is predicted to continue to increase in India, these new estimates will help to plan cancer prevention and control through intervention via   early detection and management.
Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Institutional Ethics Subcommittee, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Pune issued approval I.E.SC./W/32/2024, dated 15/04/2024. The committee did not find any ethically objectionable toward publication of the manuscript. Hence, waiver is granted for this manuscript. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.
(Copyright © 2024, Thombare et al.)