Black and Hispanic patients had higher inpatient care utilization for mycosis fungoides (MF) — and were admitted at a younger age — compared with White patients, according to an analysis of the 2012-2017 National Inpatient Sample (NIS).
The findings are consistent with prior studies implicating earlier and more severe disease in Black and Hispanic patients, and reinforce the importance of accurate diagnosis and early treatment.
Dermatologists should maintain "a higher index of suspicion for MF in patients with skin of color, as early diagnosis may help mitigate the downstream costs of management," Justin Choi, BA, a medical student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said at the annual Skin of Color Society symposium.
Choi and coinvestigators, led by Shawn Kwatra, MD, of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, identified hospital admissions for MF in the NIS for 10,790 White patients, 4,020 Black patients, and 1,615 Hispanic patients over the 5-year period. The inpatient prevalence of MF — the most common variant of primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma – was highest in these groups.
Black and Hispanic patients who were hospitalized for MF were significantly younger than White patients, with a mean age of 51.7 years and 48.5 years, respectively, compared with 59.9 years (
