scholarly journals Emergency department as place of end-of-life care and death in cancer patients

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. vi114
Author(s):  
P. Pronzato ◽  
F. Casabona ◽  
M. Lambertini ◽  
S. Morganti ◽  
S. Reggiani ◽  
...  
2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (8_suppl) ◽  
pp. 58-58
Author(s):  
Kristen Decaria ◽  
Deborah Dudgeon ◽  
Esther Green ◽  
Raquel Shaw Moxam ◽  
Rami Rahal ◽  
...  

58 Background: High acute hospital utilization rates near end-of-life can signal that community-based palliative care may not be suiting patients’ needs. Early integration of comprehensive palliative care can greatly reduce unplanned visits to the emergency department, reduce multiple admissions to hospital, shorten hospital stays, and increase the number of home deaths as well as improving the quality of life of advanced cancer patients. This analysis reports on indicators that describe the current landscape of acute-care hospital utilization at end-of-life and indirectly examines access to palliative care in patients who died of cancer in a hospital. Methods: Data were provided by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. The Discharge Abstract Database was used to extract acute-care cancer death abstracts. Data on ICU admissions include only facilities that report ICU data. Emergency department visit data were obtained from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System. The analysis was restricted to adults aged 18+ who died in an acute-care hospital in fiscal years 2014/15 and 2015/16 for nine provinces and three territories. Results: A total of 48,987 (43%) cancer patient deaths occurred in an acute-care hospitals, with 70% admitted through the emergency department. Preliminary analysis revealed interprovincial variation in the cumulative length of stay in hospital 6 months prior to death from a median stay of 17 to 25 days. Some variation was also seen in the proportion of patients admitted to hospital two or more times in the last month of life (ranging from 18% to 33%), and the proportion of cancer patients admitted to ICU in the last 14 days of life (ranging from 15% to 6%). Patient demographics (age, sex, place of residence) and clinical factors (cancer type) were often predictors of hospital utilization at end-of-life. Conclusions: This study provides information on the current landscape of acute-care hospital utilization by cancer patients at end-of-life across Canada and identifies interprovincial variations in management of end-of-life care. An area of focus for the Palliative and End-of-Life National Network continue to be developing nationally agreed upon system-wide palliative care indicators.


2015 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. S209-S210
Author(s):  
P. Pronzato ◽  
F. Casabona ◽  
M. Lambertini ◽  
S. Morganti ◽  
S. Reggiani ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 003022282199770
Author(s):  
Janet Sopcheck ◽  
Ruth M. Tappen

Residents who are terminally ill often experience transfers to the emergency department resulting in hospitalizations, which may be potentially avoidable with treatment in the nursing home. This qualitative study explored the perspectives of 15 residents, 10 family members, and 20 nursing home staff regarding end-of-life care and the circumstances prompting resident transfers. Data analysis of participant interviews conducted January to May 2019 in a South Florida nursing home identified four themes related to transfer to the hospital: time left to live, when aggressive treatments would be unavailing, not knowing what the nursing home can do, and transfer decisions are situation-dependent. Study findings underscore the importance of increasing resident and family awareness of treatments available in the nursing home and person-centered advance care planning discussions. Further research should explore the reasons for residents’ and family members’ choice of aggressive therapies and their goals for care at the end of life.


2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 757-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher T. Richards ◽  
Michael A. Gisondi ◽  
Chih-Hung Chang ◽  
D. Mark Courtney ◽  
Kirsten G. Engel ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 453-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanneke W. M. van Laarhoven ◽  
Johannes Schilderman ◽  
Constans A. H. H. V. M. Verhagen ◽  
Judith B. Prins

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