Differences in do-not-resuscitate orders, hospice care utilization, and late referral to hospice care between cancer and non-cancer decedents in a tertiary Hospital in Taiwan between 2010 and 2015: a hospital-based observational study

Differences in End-of-Life Care Between Patients Who Died of Cancer Diseases and Those Who Died of Noncancer Diseases

Background and Purpose: Patients with advanced noncancer diseases or advanced cancer diseases may experience similar symptom burdens during the end of their lives. This study aimed to evaluate the differences in receiving hospice care service and in receiving aggressive end-of-life care between patients who died of cancer diseases and those who died of noncancer diseases. Methods: This cross-sectional population-based study used data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Subjects who died of cancers or noncancer diseases from 2010 through 2019 were analyzed to identify the information on patient's characteristics, receipt of hospice care service, receipt of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during the last hospitalization, and receipt of airway support interventions during the last hospitalization. The independent effects of various characteristics on the receipt of hospice care, CPR during the last hospitalization, and airway support interventions during the last hospitalization were evaluated using multivariate logistic regressions. Results: A total of 587,490 patients were included, of which 434,142 died of cancers and 153,348 died of noncancer diseases. There were significant trends of increase in receiving hospice care service and significant trends of decrease in receiving CPR or airway support interventions during the last hospitalization in both patients who died of cancers and those who died of noncancer diseases. Compared with patients who died of cancers, those who died of noncancer diseases were less likely to receive hospice care service (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.087; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.085-0.089) and had a higher risk of receiving CPR (AOR: 3.610; 95% CI: 3.521-3.704) or airway support interventions during the last hospitalization (AOR: 3.086; 95% CI: 3.021-3.165). Conclusions: Hospice care service should be promoted for all patients with end-stage diseases especially those with noncancer diseases.

Barriers for Adult Patients to Access Palliative Care in Hospitals: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Access to palliative care services is variable, and many inpatients do not receive palliative care. An overview of potential barriers could facilitate the development of strategies to overcome factors that impede access for patients with palliative care needs.

AIM

To review the current evidence on barriers that impair, delay, or prohibit access to palliative care for adult hospital inpatients.

DESIGN

A mixed methods systematic review was conducted using an integrated convergent approach and thematic synthesis (PROSPERO ID: CRD42021279477).

DATA SOURCES

The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were searched from 10/2003 to 12/2020. Studies with evidence of barriers for inpatients to access existing palliative care services were eligible and reviewed.

RESULTS

After an initial screening of 3,359 records and 555 full-texts, 79 studies were included. Thematic synthesis yielded 149 access-related phenomena in 6 main categories: 1) Sociodemographic characteristics, 2) Health-related characteristics, 3) Individual beliefs and attitudes, 4) Interindividual cooperation and support, 5) Availability and allocation of resources, and 6) Emotional and prognostic challenges. While evidence was inconclusive for most socio-demographic factors, the following barriers emerged: having a noncancer condition or a low symptom burden, the focus on cure in hospitals, nonacceptance of terminal prognosis, negative perceptions of palliative care, misleading communication and conflicting care preferences, lack of resources, poor coordination, insufficient expertise, and clinicians' emotional discomfort and difficult prognostication.

CONCLUSION

Hospital inpatients face multiple barriers to accessing palliative care. Strategies to address these barriers need to take into account their multidimensionality and long-standing persistence.

Confronted With Death: Factors Affecting End of Life Decisions in the Intensive Care Unit

To determine how often care is limited at the end of life and the factors that are associated with this decision, we reviewed the medical records of all patients that passed away in the intensive care units (ICU) of Aga Khan University. We found that a majority of patients had Do-Not-Resuscitate orders in place at the time of death. Our analysis yielded 6 variables that were associated with the decision to limit care. These are patient age, sex, duration of mechanical ventilation, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) ≤8 at any point during ICU stay, GCS ≤8 in the first 24 hours following ICU admission, and mean arterial pressure <65 mm of Hg while on vasopressors in the first 24 hours following ICU admission. These variables require further study and should be carefully considered during end of life discussions to allow for optimal management at the end of life.

Death place and palliative outcome indicators in patients under palliative home care service: an observational study

BACKGROUND

Dying at home accompanied by loved-ones is regarded favorably and brings good luck in Taiwan. This study aimed to examine the relevant factors affecting whether an individual dies at home or not in a group of terminal patients receiving palliative home care service.

METHODS

The patients who were admitted to a palliative home care service at a hospital-affiliated home health care agency were consecutively enrolled between March 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022. During the period of care, the instruments of the palliative care outcomes collaboration was used to assess patients in each home visit twice a week, including symptom assessment scale, palliative care problem severity score, Australia-modified Karnofsky performance status, resource utilization groups-activities of daily living, and palliative care phase.

RESULTS

There were 56 participants (53.6% female) with a median age of 73.0 years (interquartile range (IQR) 61.3-80.3 y/o), of whom 51 (91.1%) patients were diagnosed with cancer and 49 (96.1%) had metastasis. The number of home visits was 3.5 (IQR 2.0-5.0) and the average number of days under palliative home care service was 31 (IQR 16.3-51.5) before their death. After the end of the study, there was a significant deterioration of sleeping, appetite, and breathing problems in the home-death group, and appetite problems in the non-home death patients. However, physician-reported psychological/spiritual problems improved in the home-death group, and pain improved in the non-home death patients. Physical performance deteriorated in both groups, and more resource utilization of palliative care was needed. The 44 patients who died at home had greater cancer disease severity, fewer admissions, and the proportion of families desiring a home death for the patient was higher.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the differences in palliative outcome indicators were minor between patients who died at home and those who died in the hospital, understanding the determinants and change of indicators after palliative care service at different death places may be helpful for improving the quality of end-of-life care.

Examining the Psychometric Properties of the Taiwanese Version of the Hospice Quality of Life Index

Quality of life is an important outcome for people with cancer throughout their cancer trajectory. Having a valid and reliable instrument to measure the quality of life is critical. This cross-sectional study examined the psychometric properties of the Taiwanese version of the Hospice Quality of Life Index among patients with advanced cancer in Taiwan. There were 3 phases: (1) translation of the Hospice Quality of Life Index from English to Mandarin, (2) pilot testing among 30 targeted participants, and (3) field testing to examine validity and reliability. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the original factor structure of the Hospice Quality of Life Index did not fit the data. After 5 items were deleted from the original questionnaire, principal factor extraction with oblique rotation for exploratory factor analysis yielded 3 subscales: Social/Spiritual Well-Being, Psychological Well-Being, and Functional/Physiological Well-Being. For convergent validity, the small to moderate strength of associations showed shared variance with the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale. The internal consistency was supported by Cronbach α ranging from 0.77 to 0.86. This study shows early evidence that the quality of life of people with advanced cancer can be appropriately assessed by the Taiwanese Hospice Quality of Life Index.

Hospice Care Improves Patients' Self-Decision Making and Reduces Aggressiveness of End-of-Life Care for Advanced Cancer Patients

The aim of the current study is to evaluate the different degrees of hospice care in improving patients' autonomy in decision-making and reducing aggressiveness of cancer care in terminal-stage cancer patients, especially in reducing polypharmacy and excessive life-sustaining treatments. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted in a single medical center in Taiwan. Patients with advanced cancer who died in 2010-2019 were included and classified into three subgroups: hospice ward admission, hospice shared care, and no hospice care involvement. In total, 8719 patients were enrolled, and 2097 (24.05%) admitted to hospice ward; 2107 (24.17%) received hospice shared care, and 4515 (51.78%) had no hospice care. Those admitted to hospice ward had significantly higher rates of having completed do-not-resuscitate order (100%, p < 0.001) and signed the do-not-resuscitate order by themselves (48.83%, p < 0.001), and they had lower aggressiveness of cancer care (2.2, p < 0.001) within the 28 days before death. Hospice ward admission, hospice shared care, and age > 79 years were negatively associated with aggressiveness of cancer care. In conclusion, our study showed that patients with end-of-life hospice care related to higher patient autonomy in decision-making and less excessively aggressive cancer care; the influence of care was more overt in patients approaching death. Further clinical efforts should be made to clarify the patient and the families' satisfaction and perceptions of quality after hospice care involvement.

Exploring Risk Factors of Unexpected Death, Using Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) Measures, among Terminal Patients Receiving Palliative Care in Taiwan

Palliative care has the ability to relieve both physical discomfort and psychological distress in terminally ill patients. However, unexpected death may still occur in palliative care settings. This study aimed to utilize Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) data to better determine any associated factors which may surround unexpected death in palliative care settings. Data were extracted from the PCOC database by the palliative care team within Taichung Veterans General Hospital (TCVGH). Data of deceased patients were extracted during the period from January 2021 to December 2021 from multiple palliative care settings. The deaths of patients whose last recorded palliative phase was 1-3 were defined as unexpected. A total of 280 deceased patients were included, with mean age at death being 67.73, 61% being male, and 83.2% cancer patients. We discovered that shortness of breath, as assessed by the Symptom Assessment Scale (SAS), decreased risk of unexpected death (OR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.84-0.98), while impending death discharge (OR: 3.93, 95% CI: 1.20-12.94) and a higher Australia-modified Karnofsky performance status (AKPS) score (OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.10-1.21) were associated with unexpected death. Thus, medical staff must inform the family of patients early on regarding any risk factors surrounding unexpected death to help everyone involved be prepared in advance.

The effect of joint involvement of nurse and physician in hospice care on terminal cancer patients on do-not-resuscitate orders signed by surrogates

OBJECTIVES

Patients with terminal cancer often experience physical and mental distress. Signing a do-not-resuscitate order (DNR) is crucial to protect against invalid treatment. This study aims to explore the effect of hospice shared care intervention by medical staff on the completion of a DNR-S (DNR order signed by surrogates) for patients with terminal cancer.

METHOD

The cross-sectional study in this research involved secondary analysis of data from the 2011-2015 clinical cancer case management database of a medical center in central Taiwan. Those with a DNR order signed by patients (DNR-P) or DNR-S before the hospice shared care consultation were excluded from this study; a total of 1,306 patients with terminal cancer were selected.

RESULTS

This study demonstrated that the percentage of DNR-S after consultation involving both nurse and physician was 75.4%. With other variables controlled, the number of DNR-Ss after consultation with a nurse was significantly lower [odds ratio (OR) = 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.42-0.75] and that of DNR-Ss after consultation involving both nurse and physician was significantly higher (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.01-1.79), than that of DNR-Ss after consultation with only the physician.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS

Joint involvement of the nurse and physician in hospice care provides sufficient information to patients and family with terminal cancer about their condition and enhances doctor-patient communication. This effectively assists patients with terminal cancer and their family members in making the major decision of signing a DNR, alleviates the concerns of patients and family members about signing a DNR, and reduces terminal cancer patients' pain at the end of life to ensure that they die in peace and dignity.

The decision for hospice care in patients with terminal illness in Shanghai: A mixed-method study

Objectives

To investigate why patients with terminal illness and their families in Shanghai choose the hospice ward and their decision-making process.

Methods

This was a mixed-method study consisting of a cross-sectional survey and a descriptive qualitative study. Medical decision-makers for patients hospitalized in hospice wards were recruited between September 2019 and July 2021. A medical decision-maker is a family member who makes medical decisions for a patient. All 146 participants completed a self-developed 10-item questionnaire that included five items about their demographic characteristics and five items about the decision-making process. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants to understand the family’s decision-making process when they chose a hospice ward. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Results

The mean age of the 146 participants was 57.6 years old. Of the decision-makers, 56.85% were the patients’ children. Family-dominated discussions involving other family members were the main decision-making mode (84.93%). Patient participation in the decision-making process was reported in 43.15% of families. The participation of doctors (17.81%) and nurses (2.05%) were reported in a small number of families. The most common reason for choosing the hospice ward was the inability to find any other hospital for the patients (82.19%). The most common ways to learn about the service were neighbors and friends (38.36%) and social media (28.77%). Two themes and six categories emerged from the interviews. The first theme was reasons for choosing hospice wards. The reasons included being unable to care for the patients at home, staying in a hospice ward could reduce the psychological stress for home care, being unable to be admitted into tertiary/secondary hospitals, and thinking a hospice ward was a suitable place for the family. The second theme was the decision process of choosing a hospice ward. This theme included the following two categories, i.e., ways to learn about the hospice ward and family-discussion decision mode.

Conclusion

To most families having dying patients, a hospice ward is a reasonable and balanced choice after the families experience huge care stress and practical difficulties. The participation of patients should be encouraged in the family discussion so that their wishes can be known. More efforts will be needed to guide the families with dying patients to make reasonable medical choices. Social media can be a good way to improve public awareness of hospice services in the future. Meanwhile, healthcare providers should be more involved in the decision-making process.

Trend analysis of palliative care consultation service for terminally ill non-cancer patients in Taiwan: a 9-year observational study

Backgrounds

Early integration of palliative care for terminally ill non-cancer patients improves quality of life. However, there are scanty data on Palliative Care Consultation Service (PCCS) among non-cancer patients.

Methods

In this 9-year observational study Data were collected from the Hospice-Palliative Clinical Database (HPCD) of Taichung Veterans General Hospital (TCVGH). Terminally ill non-cancer patients with 9 categories of diagnoses who received PCCS during 2011 to 2019 were enrolled. Trend analysis was performed to evaluate differences in categories of diagnosis throughout study period, duration of PCCS, patient outcomes, DNR declaration, awareness of disease by patients and families before and after PCCS.

Results

In total, 536 non-cancer patients received PCCS from 2011 to 2019 with an average age of 70.7 years. The average duration of PCCS was 18.4 days. The distributions of age, gender, patient outcomes, family’s awareness of disease before PCCS, and patient’s awareness of disease after PCCS were significantly different among the diagnoses. Organic brain disease and Chronic kidney disease (CKD) were the most prevalent diagnoses in patients receiving PCCS in 2019. For DNR declaration, the percentage of patients signing DNR before PCCS remained high throughout the study period (92.8% in 2019). Patient outcomes varied according to the disease diagnoses.

Conclusion

This 9-year observational study showed that the trend of PCCS among non-cancer patients had changed over the duration of the study. An increasing number of terminally ill non-cancer patients received PCCS during late life, thereby increasing the awareness of disease for both patients and families, which would tend to better prepare terminally ill patients for end-of-life as they may consider DNR consent. Early integration of PCCS into ordinary care for terminally non-cancer patients is essential for better quality of life.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12904-021-00879-z.

Prevalence and related factors of do-not-resuscitate orders among in-hospital cardiac arrest patients

PURPOSE

Studies concerning do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders in mainland China are rather scarce. We explored the prevalence and related factors of DNR orders among in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) patients at a general tertiary hospital in mainland China.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We identified all IHCA patients hospital-wide between July 2019 and September 2020. Data regarding DNR status were collected from medical records. We investigated the frequency of DNR orders and explored the determinant factors of DNR establishment using logistic regression.

RESULTS

A total of 1154 IHCA patients were included, 535 (46.4%) of whom established DNR orders. The following variables were independently associated with a higher DNR rate: female (OR 1.491; 95% CI 1.130-1.965), older age (OR 1.016; 95% CI 1.008-1.024), being a local resident (OR 1.790; 95% CI 1.344-2.383), pulmonary infection (OR 1.398; 95% CI 1052-1.859), respiratory insufficiency (OR 1.356; 95% CI 1.009-1.823), shock (OR 1.735; 95% CI 1.301-2.313), acute stroke (OR 1.821; 95% CI 1.235-2.686),neurological dysfunction (OR 1.527; 95% CI 1.149-2.028) and cancer (OR 3.316; 95% CI 2.461-4.468). Counterintuitively, patients with new-onset coronary artery disease (OR 0.592; 95% CI 0.419-0.837) were less likely to create DNR orders.

CONCLUSION

In mainland China, the DNR order signing rate is low, and the establishment of a DNR order is associated with demographics and comorbidity characteristics.

Palliative Care Consultation Services on Terminally Ill Cancer Patients and Non-Cancer Patients: Trend Analysis from a 9-Year-Long Observational Study in Taiwan

Early integration of palliative care for terminally ill cancer and non-cancer patients improves quality of life. However, there are sparse data on results of palliative care consultation services (PCCS) between cancer and non-cancer patients. In this 9-year observational study, data were collected from the Hospice-Palliative Clinical Database (HPCD) of Taichung Veterans General Hospital (TCVGH). Terminally ill cancer and non-cancer patients who received PCCS during 2011 to 2019 were enrolled. Trend analysis was performed to evaluate differences in outcomes of PCCS, including duration of PCCS, the awareness of disease of patients and families before and after PCCS, status of PCCS termination, and DNR declaration before and after PCCS among cancer and non-cancer patients throughout study period. In total, 5223 cancer patients and 536 non-cancer patients received PCCS from 2011 to 2019. The number of people who received PCCS increased stably over the decade, both for cancer and non-cancer patients. The average duration of PCCS for cancer and non-cancer patients was 21.4 days and 18.4 days, respectively. Compared with non-cancer patients, cancer patients had longer duration of PCCS, less DNR declaration (82% vs. 98%, respectively), and more transfers to the palliative care unit (17% vs. 11%, respectively), or for palliative home care (12% vs.8%, respectively). Determinants of late referral to PCCS includes age (OR 0.992, 95% CI 0.987–0.996), DNR declaration after PCCS (OR 1.967, 95% CI 1.574–2.458), patients’ awareness after PCCS (OR 0.754, 95% CI 0.635–0.895), and status of PCCS termination. This 9-year observational study showed that the trend of PCCS among cancer and non-cancer patients had changed over the duration of the study, and early integration of PCCS to all patients is essential for both cancer and non-cancer patients.

Association of Hospice Care Services With the Utilization of Life-Sustaining Treatments During End-of-Life Care Among Patients With Cancer: A Nationwide 11-Year Cohort Study

CONTEXT

The impact of hospice care services on the utilization of life-sustaining treatments during end-of-life care in terminally ill patients has not been extensively studied.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the impact of hospice care services on the utilization of life-sustaining treatments during the last three months of life among patients with cancer.

METHODS

This nationwide population-based cohort study identified adults with cancer diagnosis from the Taiwan Registry for Catastrophic Illness, 2006-2016. Life-sustaining treatments included cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intubation, mechanical ventilation support, nasogastric tube feeding, and total parenteral nutrition. Hospice care services consisted of hospice inpatient care, hospice-shared care, and hospice home care. The association of hospice care services with the utilization of life-sustaining treatments was determined using multiple logistic regression.

RESULTS

Of 516,409 patients with cancer, 310,722 (60.2%) patients used life-sustaining treatments during the last three months of life. After adjusting for covariates, patients with hospice care services were less likely to receive life-sustaining treatments during the last three months of life than those without the services (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.69-0.71). While type of life-sustaining treatments were considered, hospice care services were associated with a lower likelihood of receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (AOR: 0.125; 95% CI: 0.118-0.131), endotracheal intubation (AOR: 0.204; 95% CI: 0.199-0.210), mechanical ventilation support (AOR: 0.265; 95% CI: 0.260-0.270), nasogastric tube feeding (AOR: 0.736; 95% CI: 0.727-0.744), and total parenteral nutrition (AOR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.84-0.88).

CONCLUSION

Hospice care services were associated with a lower likelihood of receiving life-sustaining treatments during the last three months of life in patients with cancer.

Evaluating if an Advance Care Planning Intervention Promotes Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders by Facilitating Accurate Prognostic Awareness

BACKGROUND

Issuing do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders has seldom been an outcome in randomized clinical trials of advance care planning (ACP) interventions. The aim of this study was to examine whether an ACP intervention facilitating accurate prognostic awareness (PA) for patients with advanced cancer was associated with earlier use of DNR orders.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Participants (n=460) were randomly assigned 1:1 to the experimental and control arms, with 392 deceased participants constituting the final sample of this secondary analysis study. Participants in the intervention and control arms had each received an intervention tailored to their readiness for ACP/prognostic information and symptom-management education, respectively. Effectiveness in promoting a DNR order by facilitating accurate PA was determined by intention-to-treat analysis using multivariate logistic regression with hierarchical linear modeling.

RESULTS

At enrollment in the ACP intervention and before death, 9 (4.6%) and 8 (4.1%) participants and 168 (85.7%) and 164 (83.7%) participants in the experimental and control arms, respectively, had issued a DNR order, without significant between-arm differences. However, participants in the experimental arm with accurate PA were significantly more likely than participants in the control arm without accurate PA to have issued a DNR order before death (adjusted odds ratio, 2.264; 95% CI, 1.036-4.951; P=.041). Specifically, participants in the experimental arm who first reported accurate PA 31 to 90 days before death were significantly more likely than their counterparts in the control arm who reported accurate PA to have issued a DNR order in the next wave of assessment (adjusted odds ratio, 13.365; 95% CI, 1.989-89.786; P=.008). Both arms issued DNR orders close to death (median, 5-6 days before death).

CONCLUSIONS

Our ACP intervention did not promote the overall presence of a DNR order. However, our intervention facilitated the issuance of NDR orders before death among patients with accurate PA, especially those who reported accurate PA 31 to 90 days before death, but it did not facilitate the issuance of DNR orders earlier than their counterparts in the control arm.ClinicalTrial.gov Identification: NCT01912846.

Trends of Utilization of Palliative Care and Aggressive End-of-Life Care for Patients Who Died of Cancers and Those Who Died of Noncancer Diseases in Hospitals

CONTEXT

Patients who died of cancers and those who died of noncancer diseases may receive different end-of-life care.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to evaluate the trends of utilization of palliative care and aggressive end-of-life care for patients who died of cancers and those who died of noncancer diseases in hospitals.

METHODS

The medical records of patients who died in a public hospital because of cancer or other diseases were reviewed. The proportion of those who received palliative care, admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) within 30 days of death, died in ICU, and received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) within three days of death in 2013-2014, 2015-2016, and 2017-2018, respectively, was investigated. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to evaluate the independent effects of various factors on the risk of receiving aggressive end-of-life care.

RESULTS

Significant trends of increase in receiving palliative care were found. The proportion of patients who died of noncancer diseases and received palliative care was lower than that of those who died of cancers. Palliative care was associated with a reduced risk of ICU admission within 30 days of death (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.361), death in ICU (AOR 0.208), and receiving CPR within three days of death (AOR 0.057). Patients who died of noncancer diseases had a higher risk of ICU admission within 30 days of death (AOR 5.016), death in ICU (AOR 5.086), and receiving CPR within three days of death (AOR 3.274).

CONCLUSION

Utilization of palliative care is increasing. Patients who died of noncancer diseases received less palliative care but more aggressive end-of-life care than those who died of cancers.

Duration of palliative care before death in international routine practice: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Early provision of palliative care, at least 3-4 months before death, can improve patient quality of life and reduce burdensome treatments and financial costs. However, there is wide variation in the duration of palliative care received before death reported across the research literature. This study aims to determine the duration of time from initiation of palliative care to death for adults receiving palliative care across the international literature.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis that was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42018094718). Six databases were searched for articles published between Jan 1, 2013, and Dec 31, 2018: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Global Health, Web of Science and The Cochrane Library, as well undertaking citation list searches. Following PRISMA guidelines, articles were screened using inclusion (any study design reporting duration from initiation to death in adults palliative care services) and exclusion (paediatric/non-English language studies, trials influencing the timing of palliative care) criteria. Quality appraisal was completed using Hawker's criteria and the main outcome was the duration of palliative care (median/mean days from initiation to death).

RESULTS

One hundred sixty-nine studies from 23 countries were included, involving 11,996,479 patients. Prior to death, the median duration from initiation of palliative care to death was 18.9 days (IQR 0.1), weighted by the number of participants. Significant differences between duration were found by disease type (15 days for cancer vs 6 days for non-cancer conditions), service type (19 days for specialist palliative care unit, 20 days for community/home care, and 6 days for general hospital ward) and development index of countries (18.91 days for very high development vs 34 days for all other levels of development). Forty-three per cent of studies were rated as 'good' quality. Limitations include a preponderance of data from high-income countries, with unclear implications for low- and middle-income countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Duration of palliative care is much shorter than the 3-4 months of input by a multidisciplinary team necessary in order for the full benefits of palliative care to be realised. Furthermore, the findings highlight inequity in access across patient, service and country characteristics. We welcome more consistent terminology and methodology in the assessment of duration of palliative care from all countries, alongside increased reporting from less-developed settings, to inform benchmarking, service evaluation and quality improvement.

Better continuity of care improves the quality of end-of-life care among elderly patients with end-stage renal disease

Continuity of care (COC) has been emphasized in research on terminal cancer patients to increase the quality of end-of-life care; however, limited research has been conducted on end-stage renal disease patients. We applied a retrospective cohort design on 29,095 elderly patients with end-stage renal disease who died between 2005 and 2013. These patients were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. The provider Continuity of Care Index (COCI) and site COCI were calculated on the basis of outpatient visits during the 6–12 months before death. We discovered that increases in the provider COCI were significantly associated with reductions in health expenditures after adjusting for confounders, especially in inpatient and emergency departments, where the treatment intensity is high. Higher provider and site COC were also associated with lower utilization of acute care and invasive treatments in the last month before death. Provider COC had a greater effect on end-of-life care expenditures than site COC did, which indicated significant care coordination gaps within the same facility. Our findings support the recommendation of prioritizing the continuity of end-of-life care, especially provider continuity, for patients with end-stage renal disease.

Use of Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders for Critically Ill Patients with ESKD

BACKGROUND

Despite having high comorbidity rates and shortened life expectancy, patients with ESKD may harbor unrealistically optimistic expectations about their prognoses. Whether this affects resuscitation orders is unknown.

METHODS

To determine whether do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders differ among patients with ESKD compared with other critically ill patients, including those with diseases of other major organs, we investigated DNR orders on admission to intensive care units (ICUs) among 106,873 patients in the United States.

RESULTS

Major organ disease uniformly associated with increased risk of hospital mortality, particularly for cirrhosis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.67; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.30 to 3.08), and ESKD (aOR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.31 to 1.65). Compared with critically ill patients without major organ disease, patients with stroke, cancer, heart failure, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cirrhosis were statistically more likely to have a DNR order on ICU admission; those with ESKD were not. Findings were similar when comparing patients with a single organ disease with those without organ disease. The disconnect between prognosis and DNR use was most notable among Black patients, for whom ESKD (compared with no major organ disease) was associated with a 62% (aOR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.27 to 2.04) higher odds of hospital mortality, but no appreciable difference in DNR utilization (aOR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.62).

CONCLUSIONS

Unlike patients with diseases of other major organs, critically ill patients with ESKD were not more likely to have a DNR order than patients without ESKD. Whether this reflects a greater lack of advance care planning in the nephrology community, as well as a missed opportunity to minimize potentially needless patient suffering, requires further study.

Knowledge, attitude, confidence, and educational needs of palliative care in nurses caring for non-cancer patients: a cross-sectional, descriptive study

BACKGROUND

Palliative care is a patient-centred, integrated approach for improving quality of life for both patients facing life-threatening illnesses and for their families. Although there has been increased interest in palliative care for non-cancer patients, the palliative care competency of nurses who care for non-cancer patients has rarely been investigated. This study described the palliative care knowledge, attitude, confidence, and educational needs in nurses who care for patients with congestive heart failure, stroke, end-stage renal disease, and end-stage liver disease; explored the relationships between those variables; and identified factors affecting nurses' palliative care confidence.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational design was employed; data collection was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea. Nurses who were working in general wards and intensive care units (N = 102) completed valid and reliable self-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, frequencies, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlations, and multiple regression were conducted to analyse the data.

RESULTS

Nurses' palliative care knowledge level was low (9.73 ± 2.10; range = 0-20) and their attitude toward palliative care was moderate (87.97 ± 6.93, range: 30-120). Knowledge was significantly correlated with attitude (r = .29, p = .003). Nurses were highly confident in pain and symptom management but demonstrated high educational needs for managing human and material resources to provide palliative care. Previous training in hospice, palliative, and EOL care was a significant and modifiable factor that affected nurses' confidence (std. β = 0.25, p = .010).

CONCLUSIONS

To facilitate high-quality palliative care for non-cancer patients and families, nursing education programs should be developed to address nurses' knowledge level, confidence level, and educational needs. This study provides relevant information that can be utilised to develop palliative care educational programs for nurses who care for non-cancer patients.

The Trend of Aggressive Treatments in End-of-Life Care for Older People With Dementia After a Policy Change in Taiwan

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated the trend of end-of-life healthcare utilization and life-sustaining interventions for older adults with dementia 3 to 4 years after the change in hospice policy.

DESIGN

Population-based retrospective cohort study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

We used the National Health Insurance Research database of enrolled patients ≥65 years of age diagnosed with dementia who died in 2010-2013 (n = 2062).

METHODS

Aggressive treatments, including healthcare utilization and life-sustaining interventions, were recorded within 6 months of death. Aggressive healthcare utilization included ≥1 emergency department visits, ≥1 hospitalizations, >14 days of hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and death in an acute care hospital. Life-sustaining interventions were enteral tube, artificial nutrition, blood transfusion, hemodialysis, invasive ventilation, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

RESULTS

Compared with 2010‒2012, 2013 rates significantly decreased for all measures (P < .001). Composite scores of healthcare utilization and life-sustaining treatments in 2013 were significantly lower than for 2010‒2012, after controlling for confounding variables (both P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Older patients with dementia had a trend of reduced healthcare utilization and fewer life-sustaining treatments near the end of life from 2010 to 2013 after a policy change.

End-of-Life Health Care Utilization Between Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Lung Cancer Patients

CONTEXT

At the end of life, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer (LC) patients exhibit similar symptoms; however, a large-scale study comparing end-of-life health care utilization between these two groups has not been conducted in East Asia.

OBJECTIVES

To explore and compare end-of-life resource use during the last six months before death between COPD and LC patients.

METHODS

Using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we conducted a nationwide retrospective cohort study in COPD (n = 8640) and LC (n = 3377) patients who died between 1997 and 2013.

RESULTS

The COPD decedents were more likely to be admitted to intensive care units (57.59% vs 29.82%), to have longer intensive care unit stays (17.59 vs 9.93 days), and to undergo intensive procedures than the LC decedents during their last six months; they were less likely to receive inpatient (3.32% vs 18.24%) or home-based palliative care (0.84% vs 8.17%) and supportive procedures than the LC decedents during their last six months. The average total medical cost during the last six months was approximately 18.42% higher for the COPD decedents than for the LC decedents.

CONCLUSION

Higher intensive health care resource use, including intensive procedure use, at the end of life suggests a focus on prolonging life in COPD patients; it also indicates an unmet demand for palliative care in these patients. Avoiding potentially inappropriate care and improving end-of-life care quality by providing palliative care to COPD patients are necessary.