Palliative Care in Emergency General Surgery Patients: Reduced Inpatient Mortality And Increased Discharge to Hospice

2020 ◽  
pp. 000313482095694
Author(s):  
Maria Baimas-George ◽  
Sam Yelverton ◽  
Samuel W. Ross ◽  
Nigel Rozario ◽  
Brent D. Matthews ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
General Surgery ◽  
Inpatient Mortality ◽  
Emergency General Surgery ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Undergo Emergency Surgery ◽  
Risk Of Mortality ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Palliative Care Services ◽  
Over Time

Background Admissions due to emergency general surgery (EGS) are on the rise, and patients who undergo emergency surgery are at increased risk of mortality. We hypothesized that utilization of palliative care and discharge to hospice in the EGS population have increased over time and that this is associated with a decrease in inpatient mortality. Methods Using the 2002-2011 nationwide inpatient sample and American Association for the Surgery of Trauma-defined EGS diagnosis codes, we identified patients ≥18 years old with an EGS admission. Demographics, hospitalization characteristics, mortality, use of palliative care services, and discharge to hospice were queried. All Patient Refined-Diagnosis Related Group risk of mortality was used to categorize those with an extreme likelihood of dying (ELD). Multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate the association between palliative care consult and discharge to hospice. Results Of the included patients, .3% received palliative care and .2% were discharged to hospice. Over time, rates of palliative care and hospice discharge increased while inpatient mortality decreased. In the 4% of patients with ELD, 3% received palliative care, 5% were transitioned to hospice care, and 22% suffered inpatient mortality. Controlling for patient characteristics, utilization of palliative care services was associated with increased odds of discharge to hospice compared to inpatient mortality (OR = 1.78 all patients and OR = 2.04 for ELD). Conclusions Despite the known increased risks associated with emergency surgical diagnoses, palliative care services remain infrequently utilized in the EGS population. This may be an opportunity for lessening suffering, improving patient-concordant care and outcomes, and reducing nonbeneficial and unwanted care.

Effect of palliative care services on quality of life over time among gynecologic oncology patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. S145-S146
Author(s):  
Niyazi Kilic ◽  
Julia Ritchie ◽  
Ashley Haggerty ◽  
Emily Ko ◽  
Ashley Graul
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Gynecologic Oncology ◽  
Oncology Patients ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Palliative Care Services ◽  
Over Time

Prevalence of specialised palliative care consultation for eligible children within a paediatric cardiac ICU

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Claudia Delgado-Corcoran ◽  
Erin E. Bennett ◽  
Stephanie A. Bodily ◽  
Sarah E. Wawrzynski ◽  
Danielle Green ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Screening Criteria ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Lengths Of Stay ◽  
Paediatric Palliative Care ◽  
Icu Length Of Stay ◽  
Palliative Care Consultation ◽  
Risk Of Mortality ◽  
Palliative Care Services ◽  
Care Consultation

Abstract Objective: Retrospectively apply criteria from Center to Advance Palliative Care to a cohort of children treated in a cardiac ICU and compare children who received a palliative care consultation to those who were eligible for but did not receive one. Methods: Medical records of children admitted to a cardiac ICU between January 2014 and June 2017 were reviewed. Selected criteria include cardiac ICU length of stay >14 days and/or ≥ 3 hospitalisations within a 6-month period. Measurements and Results: A consultation occurred in 17% (n = 48) of 288 eligible children. Children who received a consult had longer cardiac ICU (27 days versus 17 days; p < 0.001) and hospital (91 days versus 35 days; p < 0.001) lengths of stay, more complex chronic conditions at the end of first hospitalisation (3 versus1; p < 0.001) and the end of the study (4 vs.2; p < 0.001), and higher mortality (42% versus 7%; p < 0.001) when compared with the non-consulted group. Of the 142 pre-natally diagnosed children, only one received a pre-natal consult and 23 received it post-natally. Children who received a consultation (n = 48) were almost 2 months of age at the time of the consult. Conclusions: Less than a quarter of eligible children received a consultation. The consultation usually occurred in the context of medical complexity, high risk of mortality, and at an older age, suggesting potential opportunities for more and earlier paediatric palliative care involvement in the cardiac ICU. Screening criteria to identify patients for a consultation may increase the use of palliative care services in the cardiac ICU.

Volunteering in hospice and palliative care in the United Kingdom

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ros Scott
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Care Services ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Strategic Direction ◽  
Palliative Care Services ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Hospice And Palliative Care ◽  
Changing Role

This chapter explores the history of volunteers in the founding and development of United Kingdom (UK) hospice services. It considers the changing role and influences of volunteering on services at different stages of development. Evidence suggests that voluntary sector hospice and palliative care services are dependent on volunteers for the range and quality of services delivered. Within such services, volunteer trustees carry significant responsibility for the strategic direction of the organiszation. Others are engaged in diverse roles ranging from the direct support of patient and families to public education and fundraising. The scope of these different roles is explored before considering the range of management models and approaches to training. This chapter also considers the direct and indirect impact on volunteering of changing palliative care, societal, political, and legislative contexts. It concludes by exploring how and why the sector is changing in the UK and considering the growing autonomy of volunteers within the sector.

Diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of depression in advanced disease

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Hotopf
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Advanced Disease ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Treatment Of Depression ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Palliative Care Services ◽  
Key Issues

Depression in palliative care is common, under-recognised and has significant impacts for sufferers. There are effective treatments but often a shortage of staff to provide them. This chapter sets out a number of key issues to consider when assessing and treating individual patients and considers the way in which palliative care services can innovate to provide a population level response to depression. Palliative care staff can be trained to deliver basic depression care and follow simple protocols to initiate, monitor and adjust antidepressant treatment. These approaches have been tested in trials in cancer care but the challenge is to take these approaches from research trials conducted in centres of excellence with good resources, to other settings.

scholarly journals Reluctance to Accept Palliative Care and Recommendations for Improvement: Findings From Semi-Structured Interviews With Patients and Caregivers

2021 ◽  
pp. 104990912110126
Author(s):  
Valeria Cardenas ◽  
Anna Rahman ◽  
Yujun Zhu ◽  
Susan Enguidanos
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Insurance Coverage ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Palliative Care Services

Background: Despite some insurance plans now paying for home-based palliative care, recent reports have suggested that insurance coverage for palliative care may be insufficient in expanding patient access to home-based palliative care. Aim: To identify patients’ and caregivers’ perceived barriers to home-based palliative care and their recommendations for overcoming these barriers. Design: We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured individual interviews. Our interview protocol elicited participants’ perspectives on home-based palliative care services; positive and negative aspects of the palliative program explanation; and suggestions for improving messaging around home-based palliative care. Setting/Participants: Twenty-five participants (patients, proxies, and their caregivers) who were eligible for a randomized controlled trial of home-based palliative care were interviewed by telephone. Results: Themes related to home-based palliative care referral barriers included reluctance to have home visits, enrollment timing, lack of palliative care knowledge, misconceptions about palliative care, and patients’ self-perceived health condition. Themes related to recommendations for overcoming these obstacles included ensuring that palliative care referrals come from healthcare providers or insurance companies and presenting palliative care services more clearly. Conclusion: Findings reinforce the need for additional palliative care education among patients with serious illness (and their caregivers) and the importance of delivering palliative care information and referrals from trusted sources.

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