Cancer pain is the key reason for a significant number of hospital admissions in the United States, according to a national epidemiological study.
A retrospective review of data from the National Inpatient Sample hospital discharge database (Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) for the years 2007 to 2012 found that an estimated 121,902 patients with a primary diagnosis of cancer pain were admitted during that time period, and at an annual cost of