scholarly journals NQPC-10 END-OF-LIFE PHASE OF GLIOBLASTOMA

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii31-ii31
Author(s):  
Tomoko Omura ◽  
Yasuji Miyakita ◽  
Takaki Omura ◽  
Makoto Ohno ◽  
Masamichi Takahashi ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND Despite aggressive treatment with surgery and chemo-radiation therapy, it is difficult to cure patients with glioblastoma (GBM). The end-of-life (EOL) phase of patients with GBM, and related problems, have not yet been adequately studied. Most cancer patients died in the hospital (84%) in 2017, but the Japanese government has recommended palliative home-care and the number of deaths at home has recently been increasing. This study explores the current situation of EOL care for GBM patients in our hospital. METHODS We retrospectively examined the clinical course and EOL phase of 166 consecutive patients who were treated in our hospital between 2010 and 2017. RESULT In total, 107 patients died; 28 (26%) at home, 25 (23%) in hospice care, 9(9%) in nursing homes, 21(20%) in long-term care hospitals (LTCH), 13(12%) in our hospital, and 11(10%) in other neurosurgical hospitals. The median survival time and length of EOL phase for patients who died at home were 596 and 77 days; 469 and 103 days in hospice care; 528 days and 149 days in LTCH; 388 days and 52 days in our hospital; 802 and 91 days in other neurosurgical hospital; and 565 days and 55 days in nursing homes, respectively. The KPS of patients who transferred to LTCH or was started palliative care in other neurological hospital was 60. That of other patients was 50.The patients who died at home entered deep coma in the last 3.5 days (n=24) of life and could not take oral feeds for 7 days (n=26). CONCLUSION According to cancer patient study, the home-based palliative time of longer prognosis group were 59 days. EOL phase of GBM may be longer than other cancer. We must consider the problems of the EOL phase and improve the quality of EOL care.

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi206-vi207
Author(s):  
Tomoko Omura ◽  
Yasuji Miyakita ◽  
Makoto Ohno ◽  
Masamichi Takahashi ◽  
Kenji Fujimoto ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND Despite aggressive treatment with surgery and chemo-radiation therapy, it is difficult to cure patients with glioblastoma (GBM). The end-of-life (EOL) phase of patients with GBM, and related problems, have not yet been adequately studied. Unlike in other countries, most cancer patients died in the hospital (84%) in 2017, but the Japanese government has recommended palliative home care and the number of deaths at home has recently been increasing. This study explores the current situation of EOL care for GBM patients in Japan. METHODS We retrospectively examined the clinical course and EOL phase of 166 consecutive patients who were treated in our hospital between 2010 and 2017. RESULT: In total, 107 patients died; 27 (25.7%) at home, 24 (22.8%) in hospice care, 8 (7.6%) in nursing homes, 46 (43.9%) in hospitals (long-term care hospitals [LTCH; 19.8%], our hospital [13.3%], and other neurosurgical hospitals [10.4%]). According to our previous research, in 2001–2005, 6% of GBM patients died at home, 3% in hospice case, and 91% in the hospital. The KPSof patients who started palliative home care or transferred to another hospital was 50–60. The median survival time and length of EOL phase for patients who died at home were 498 and 76.5 days; 395 and 103 days in hospice care; 533 days and 149 days in LTCH; 374 days and 52 days in our hospital; 338 and 75.5 days in other neurosurgical hospital; and 557 days and 37 days in nursing homes, respectively. CONCLUSION The number of GBM patients who died at home in Japan is increasing, and we must consider the problems of the EOL phase and improve the quality of EOL care.


2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane E. Hoffmann ◽  
Anita J. Tarzian

The quality of end-of-life care in this country is often poor. There is abundant literature indicating that dying individuals do not receive adequate pain medication or palliative care, are tethered to machines and tubes in a way that challenges their dignity and autonomy, and are not helped to deal with the emotional grief and psychological angst that may accompany the dying process. While this is true for individuals in many settings, it seems to be especially true for individuals in nursing homes. This is somewhat puzzling given that (1) considerable resources have been devoted to bringing public attention to this problem, (2) we have the knowledge and expertise to provide such care, and (3) we have a government-financed benefit that covers this type of care - the Medicare hospice benefit (MHB).While utilization of hospice care has increased during the last decade, there is considerable evidence that hospice care remains underutilized particularly in the long term care setting.


2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard I. Grossberg ◽  
Martha Blackford ◽  
Sarah Friebert ◽  
Ethan Benore ◽  
Michael D. Reed

AbstractObjective:Children and young adults with severe disabilities and their families are faced with enormous challenges throughout the lifespan, including admitting the child to a long-term care facility (LTCF) and making end-of-life (EOL) care decisions. While children are residents of these specialized LTCF, the majority of their daily care, even up until death, is provided by nursing aides or habilitation aides (HAs) with limited training and educational backgrounds compared with other licensed healthcare providers. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a resident's EOL experience on the primary HAs and parents/guardians.Method:Thirty-five resident deaths occurred at Hattie Larlham Center for Children with Disabilities (HLCCD) between January 1, 2006 and February 28, 2009. The HAs and parents/legal guardians were identified for each death and invited to complete three surveys per resident (FAMCARE, Impact of Events Scale (IES)-revised, and Perspective on End-of-Life Care) to assess their experience. There were 112 surveys mailed to 62 HAs and 47 surveys mailed to 47 parents.Results:Forty-two surveys were returned from 18/62 HAs (response rate 29%) and 11/47 parents/legal guardians completed the surveys (response rate 23%). The FAMCARE survey found that parents were more satisfied with the EOL care than were the HAs. The IES-revised found no difference in traumatic responses from either group. Comments from the Perspective on End-of-Life Care survey were analyzed qualitatively for common themes including pain control, respect, decision making, environmental needs, resources, and support.Significance of results:Because of a low response rate, it was difficult to draw significant conclusions; however, several interesting trends were noted regarding the number of deaths HAs experienced, satisfaction with care, and distress. The special needs of this population and their caregivers can provide crucial insights into interventions (e.g. chaplaincy support, debriefings, anticipatory counseling, environmental changes) that might be of benefit for any caregiver or parent of a child with a long-term, chronic condition, particularly involving developmental disability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Amil Kusain Tan

It is evident in the literature that as near end of life approaches, health expenditure increases. The rehospitalization and underutilization of palliative and hospice services add to the burgeoning health cost. There is a lack of support for patients with advanced illness in long-term care facilities. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the problem and assess alternatives to reduce readmission among patients with advanced disease and those who are at the end of life.  This paper adapted Bardach’s Eightfold Path analysis as a guide to analyzing the problem using a case study approach. The article discussed the issues, reviewed the literature for evidence, provided the alternatives, identified criteria, evaluated projected outcomes, discussed the trade-offs of adopting the policy, and provided a recommendation. In conclusion, integration of palliative and hospice care services across the continuum of long-term care is a viable alternative policy to address the problem.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 683-690
Author(s):  
Eunyoung Lee ◽  
Tamara Sussman ◽  
Sharon Kaasalainen ◽  
Pamela Durepos ◽  
Lynn McCleary ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveQuality end-of-life (EOL) care is critical for dying residents and their family/friend caregivers. While best practices to support resident comfort at EOL in long-term care (LTC) homes are emerging, research rarely explores if and how the type of care received at EOL may contribute to caregivers’ perceptions of a good death. To address this gap, this study explored how care practices at EOL contributed to caregivers’ perceptions of a good resident death.MethodThis study used a retrospective cross-sectional survey design. Seventy-eight participants whose relative or friend died in one of five LTC homes in Canada completed self-administered questionnaires on their perceptions of EOL care and perceptions of a good resident death.ResultsOverall, caregivers reported positive experiences with EOL care and perceived residents to have died a good death. However, communication regarding what to expect in the final days of life and attention to spiritual issues were often missing components of care. Further, when explored alongside direct resident care, family support, and rooming conditions, staff communication was the only aspect of EOL care significantly associated with caregivers’ perceptions of a good resident death.Significance of resultsThe findings of this study suggest that the critical role staff in LTC play in supporting caregivers’ perceptions of a good resident death. By keeping caregivers informed about expectations at the very end of life, staff can enhance caregivers’ perceptions of a good resident death. Further, by addressing spiritual issues staff may improve caregivers’ perceptions that residents were at peace when they died.


2019 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Barth

Although demand for long-term care (LTC) in Germany is expected to increase over the coming decades, the LTC sector will struggle to provide sufficient capacity. Evaluating the impact of different risk factors on future LTC demand is necessary in order to make informed policy decisions. With regard to LTC need, dementia and lower extremity injuries (LEI) are common risk factors. Both are used to demonstrate their maximum attainable efficacy in mitigating the future increase in overall LTC need, both at home and in nursing homes.We use a multi-state projection model for which the estimation of the underlying transition and mortality rates is based on longitudinal health claims data from AOK, Germany’s largest public health insurance provider, between 2004 and 2010. We project six different scenarios of LTC for ages 75+ in Germany for the period from 2014 to 2044, including counterfactual scenarios that remove the effects of LEI, dementia, or both. Our multi-state projections distinguish between home-based and institutional LTC.Removing the effect of LTC risk factors mitigates the increase in total LTC demand and postpones demand until a later age. Removing dementia markedly shifts future care demand from institutional LTC to LTC at home and even increases demand for LTC at home at older ages beyond the baseline projection due to the dual function of dementia as a risk factor for both LTC demand and mortality. Removing LEI has less of an effect on overall and sectoral LTC demand. Removing both risk factors at the same time results in the greatest impact, which is even more marked than that of both individual scenarios combined, thus indicating a synergistic relationship between dementia and LEI on LTC risk.The type of LTC demand (home-based or institutional) shows considerable plasticity when specific risk factors are removed. We demonstrate the degree to which LTC demand can be affected in favour of LTC at home, using dementia and LEI as examples of potentially modifiable risk factors, and thus show how the efficacy of potential intervention targets for policy-makers can be assessed.This study provides evidence on the degree of plasticity of future long-term care demand at home and in institutions that would hypothetically be attainable when completely removing specific cognitive or physical risk factors of care need (dementia or lower EI). It is based on large-scale health claims data, which contain longitudinal individual level data on morbidity and long-term care status. A close link exists between the cognitive risk factor of dementia and the type of LTC, as its absence shifts care demand to home-based care at older ages. The study also demonstrates the usefulness of counterfactual projections based on health claims data in assessing the hypothetical maximum efficacy of different intervention strategies.


BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. e015130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mari Aaltonen ◽  
Leena Forma ◽  
Jutta Pulkki ◽  
Jani Raitanen ◽  
Pekka Rissanen ◽  
...  

ObjectivesThe time of death is increasingly postponed to a very high age. How this change affects the use of care services at the population level is unknown. This study analyses the care profiles of older people during their last 2 years of life, and investigates how these profiles differ for the study years 1996–1998 and 2011–2013.DesignRetrospective cross-sectional nationwide data drawn from the Care Register for Health Care, the Care Register for Social Care and the Causes of Death Register. The data included the use of hospital and long-term care services during the last 2 years of life for all those who died in 1998 and in 2013 at the age of ≥70 years in Finland.MethodsWe constructed four care profiles using two criteria: (1) number of days in round-the-clock care (vs at home) in the last 2 years of life and (2) care transitions during the last 6 months of life (ie, end-of-life care transitions).ResultsBetween the study periods, the average age at death and the number of diagnoses increased. Most older people (1998: 64.3%, 2013: 59.3%) lived at home until their last months of life (profile 2) after which they moved into hospital or long-term care facilities. This profile became less common and the profiles with a high use of care services became more common (profiles 3 and 4 together in 1998: 25.0%, in 2013: 30.9%). People with dementia, women and the oldest old were over-represented in the latter profiles. In both study periods, fewer than one in ten stayed at home for the whole last 6 months (profile 1).ConclusionsPostponement of death to a very old age may translate into more severe disability in the last months or years of life. Care systems must be prepared for longer periods of long-term care services needed at the end of life.


Author(s):  
Jesse A. Soodalter ◽  
Yael Schenker

This chapter summarizes Singer and colleagues’ 1999 “Quality End-of-Life Care: Patients’ Perspectives,” which investigates elements of quality end-of-life (EOL) care from patients’ perspectives. The study uses content analysis of previously conducted interviews with 126 dialysis and HIV patients and long-term care residents to identify five domains of quality EOL care: receiving adequate pain and symptom management, avoiding inappropriate prolongation of dying, achieving a sense of control, relieving burden, and strengthening relationships with loved ones. The authors compare these with three other, non-patient-derived taxonomies, finding the study’s domains to be simpler and more specific, less conceptually driven (e.g., “processes of care”), and more outcome-focused. This study pioneered patient-centered research into quality of EOL care, which has since expanded to many other populations


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