Key clinical point: A pilot program that aims to optimize the care of patients with malignant bowel obstruction is associated with longer survival and shorter cumulative hospital length of stay in the first 60 days after a malignant bowel obstruction diagnosis.

Major finding: Median overall survival, adjusted for initial cancer stage and lines of chemotherapy, increased by about 5 months, from 99 days before the program to 243 days after the program was implemented.

Study details: A retrospective study of data from 169 patients at a Canadian center.

Disclosures: The first author was supported by funding from Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. Coauthors disclosed financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies and pending patents related to percutaneous procedures and a surgical device.