RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To analyze changes in the incidence, diagnostic procedures, comorbidity, length of hospital stay and costs of patients hospitalized for lung cancer in Spain between 2001 and 2011. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective study including all patients hospitalised with a primary diagnosis of lung cancer between 2001 and 2011. Data were collected from the National Hospital Discharge Database, encompassing the entire Spanish population. Economic and sociodemographic characteristics and health-related variables were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 298,435 hospitalizations occurred. The overall crude incidence increased from 61.18 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2001 to 65.08 per 100,000 in 2011 (P <.05), with a decrease in men and a proportionate increase in women. The age group with the highest incidence was 70 to 79 years. In 2001, 4.5% of patients had a Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) >2, and in 2011, prevalence of CCI >2 increased to 9.1% (P<.05). Mean length of hospital stay decreased during the study period. Computed tomography was the most common procedure. Mean cost per patient increased from 4,471.22 in 2001 to 5,562.54 (P<.05) in 2011. Factors related to the incidence of hospitalizations were age, sex and year of study in the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: We found a decrease in the rate of hospitalizations in men and an increase in women, with a concomitant increase in comorbidities and cost; however, length of hospital stay decreased. Factors related to incidence of hospitalizations were age, sex and year of study.