133 Background: Physician orders for dcope of treatment (POST) forms are standardized forms for patient preferences for end-of-life care. These forms contain orders by a physician who has identified a patient who is seriously ill with life-limiting progressive, advanced illness. Utilization of the POST form in advanced and metastatic cancer patients has not yet been evaluated. Methods: At West Virginia University/Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, we performed an IRB approved retrospective chart review of all patients who died of metastatic or advanced malignancies from 2010-2012. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS Version 20. Results: 139 patients were identified who were diagnosed with metastatic cancer and treated at West Virginia University who died from 2010-2012. Of those 139 patients, 26 (18.7%) completed POST forms. 51 (36.7%) patients received systemic oncologic treatment in their last thirty days of life. In the last ninety days of life, patients averaged 16.2 days hospitalized. 123 (88.4%) patients had at least one hospital stay in their last three months of life, with 82 (58.7%) having two or more stays. 65 (46.8%) patients had a hospital readmission within thirty days. 39 (28.1%) patients had an ICU stay with an average duration of 2.6 days. Almost half of all patients reviewed (67, 48.2%) died in the hospital. Patients averaged 2.9 CT scans and 5.2 X-rays over the last ninety days of their life. 116 (83.5%) patients had an end-of-life discussion, with an average time from discussion to date of death of 24.5 days. Only 60 (43.2%) were identified as having a palliative care consult completed. Conclusions: The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) recommends implementation of Palliative Care at the time of diagnosis of advanced cancer. POST forms appear to have a positive impact on end-of-life care in this population of advanced cancer patients. Increasing their implementation in metastatic oncology patients will likely improve end-of-life care. [Table: see text]
Aggressive End-of-Life Care for Metastatic Cancer Patients Younger Than Age
65 Years
