Inpatient palliative care and clinical outcomes in gastric cancer with sepsis: A population-based cohort study.

340 Background: Gastric cancer is the fifth most common malignancy and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, with a 5-year survival rate of ~32%. Sepsis substantially worsens outcomes in cancer patients, increasing mortality risk by 3–5 fold. While palliative care is recommended to improve quality of life and align goals of care, its role in gastric cancer patients admitted with sepsis is not well defined. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study using the 2018–2021 National Inpatient Sample. Hospitalized Adults with gastric cancer and coexisting sepsis were identified using ICD-10 codes. The exposure was receipt of a palliative care consult. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included acute kidney injury (AKI), respiratory failure, mechanical ventilation, shock, length of stay (LOS), and hospitalization charges. Survey-weighted descriptive statistics and multivariable regression analyses adjusted for possible confounders. Results: Among 12,750 weighted hospitalizations for gastric cancer with sepsis, 29.6% received a palliative care consult. In-hospital mortality was higher in the palliative group compared to non-palliative (40.3% vs 22.2%), with palliative care significantly associated with nearly four-fold greater odds of death (OR 3.89, 95% CI 3.18–4.75, p