Mutliple Myeloma Increases the Mortality Rate in Patients Admitted for Upper GI Bleed: An Analysis of National Inpatient Database

Introduction

Multiple myeloma is a malignant disease of terminally differentiated B cells presenting with bone lesions, renal abnormalities, electrolyte changes and infections. It can occasionally leave the bone medullary space and involve other systems like respiratory and gastrointestinal (GI) tract to form plasmacytomas. The extramedullary spread into the GI tract results in typical presentation of hematemesis and melena. There have been a few cases that have reported the same, but the true prevalence and mortality of these patients is not well known. The aim of the study was to evaluate role of multiple myeloma on the in-hospital outcomes in patients admitted for Upper GI bleed in the United States.

Methodology

We conducted retrospective analysis utilizing Nationwide Inpatient Database (NIS) from year 2016-2019. Patients with age 18 years or more admitted to the hospital due to non-variceal Upper GI bleed were included in our study and it was further divided based on presence (study group) or absence (control group) of underlying Multiple Myeloma. ICD-10 CM codes were used to identify patient population. Chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables and Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables. Impact of multiple myeloma on the in-hospital outcomes and healthcare utilization was evaluated using multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results

The sample size included 1,007,765 patients admitted for upper GI bleed, of which 0.31% had underlying multiple myeloma. Patients with underlying multiple myeloma were relatively older with mean age of 72 years compared to 65 years in group with no multiple myeloma (p<0.001). Females constituted 40.36% of the multiple myeloma group compared to 44.63% of patients without it. There was a higher mortality rate (5.03%) in those with multiple myeloma compared to those without it (1.9%) (adjusted OR=2.53, p<0.001). They also had a higher rate of blood transfusion (45.22% vs 33.91%) compared to those with no underlying multiple myeloma (adjusted OR=1.42, p<0.001). The adjusted mean total hospitalization charge was $14,531 higher and adjusted mean length of stay was 1.1 day more in those with underlying multiple myeloma compared to those without it, with p<0.001.

Conclusion Our study showed that Multiple Myeloma increases the mortality rate by more than two and half fold in patients presenting with upper GI bleed. It also poses a significant burden on the healthcare and therefore, physicians should be more vigilant when encountered with such challenges.

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.