Sedation for delirium and other symptoms in terminally ill patients in Edmonton

The use of sedation and the management of delirium and other difficult symptoms in terminally ill patients in Edmonton has been reported previously. The focus of this study was to assess the prevalence in the Edmonton region of difficult symptoms requiring sedation at the end of life. Data were collected for 50 consecutive patients at each of (a) the tertiary palliative care unit, (b) the consulting palliative care program at the Royal Alexandra Hospital (acute care), and (c) three hospice inpatient units in the city. Patients on the tertiary palliative care unit were significantly younger. Assessments confirmed the more problematic physical and psychosocial issues of patients in the tertiary palliative care unit. These patients had more difficult pain syndromes and required significantly higher doses of daily opioids. Approximately 80% of patients in all three settings developed delirium prior to death. Pharmacological management of this problem was needed by 40% in the acute care setting, and by 80% in the tertiary palliative care unit. The patients sedated varied from 4% in the hospice setting to 10% in the tertiary palliative care unit. Of the 150 patients, nine were sedated for delirium, one for dyspnea. The prevalence of delirium and other symptoms requiring sedation in our area is relatively low compared to others reported in the literature. Demographic variability between the three Edmonton settings highlights the need for caution in comparing results of different palliative care groups. It is possible that some variability in the use of sedation internationally is due to cultural differences. The infrequent deliberate use of sedation in Edmonton suggests that improved management has resulted in fewer distressing symptoms at the end of life. This is of benefit to patients and to family members who are with them during this time.     

Proactive palliative care choices for haematology day unit patients

End stage haematology patients may require transfusion of blood, or blood products, regularly throughout the week. One regional haematology day unit sister identified difficulties that these hospital services dependent patients were experiencing in establishing contact with local community specialist palliative care services. As a consequence, some patients were unable to access specialist palliative care services in the community when they were too unwell to attend the day unit, resulting in acute admission to hospital for terminal care. Discussion of this issue with nursing colleagues from the hospital and community palliative care teams led to the development of an alternative model of palliative care delivery for these patients. The new model increased patient choice. Evaluation of this model of care demonstrated an increase in planned hospice/community deaths, avoiding unnecessary emergency hospital admissions in the last days of life. All regional patients accessed some palliative care services/treatment locally and there was opportunity for patient-initiated palliative care review.     

The ‘dark side’ of adjuvant analgesic drugs

Background: Both life expectancy and rates of cancer death increase in Korea, and quality of life is increasingly recognised as an important issue for cancer patients. Despite the developments of early diagnosis and treatments for cancer, increased medical costs have became a major problem for families and for governments. This study assessed the medical costs and the quality of life in terminal cancer patients in various care facilities to assess the contribution of hospice care to the maintenance of quality of life and to cost reduction.

Methods: A total of 159 patients (male: 70, female: 89) with terminal cancer were entered into the study. Their care was managed in four types of care facility (home hospice, charity hospital hospice unit, university hospital hospice unit, university hospital non-hospice unit) between November 1 1997 and January 31 1999. Differences in medical costs and quality of life (pain, depression, ADLs, family APGAR score) were assessed during the last 1 week of life in these facilities, analysed by one-way ANOVA test.

Results: Mean costs of the medical care during the last week of life was US$ 54.4 in the charity hospital hospice unit, US$ 87.6 in the home hospice, US$ 585.1 in the university hospital hospice unit, and US$ 864.5 in the university hospital non-hospice unit. ADL scores for patient in the home hospice were lower than those of other medical facilities (p<0.001). Pain scores on the dying day and one day before death were lowest in the home hospice and university hospital hospice (p<0.01). No differences were noted in depression scales or family APGAR scores.

Conclusion: In Korea, where much charitable and volunteer effort maintains hospice programmes, the cost of hospice care is less than that of the non-hospice care. Patients of home hospice, even with low ADLs, experienced less pain and had measures of psychological and family functioning score during the last days of life no less than in other settings. Hospice approaches to care deserve greater recognition and official support in Korea.     

Impact of availability of an inpatient hospice unit on the parent hospital's quality of palliative care for Taiwanese cancer decedents, 2001-2006

Context

Hospice care has increasingly been shown to affect quality of palliative care at both the individual and institutional levels. However, an institutional effect has only been addressed in single comprehensive cancer centers/selected community hospitals.

Objectives

To investigate the impact of an inpatient hospice unit on the parent hospital’s quality of palliative care.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study using administrative data from the entire population of 204,850 Taiwanese pediatric and adult cancer patients who died in 2001–2006. Outcome variables were adjusted by multivariate logistic regression for five groups of confounding variables: 1) patient demographics and disease characteristics, 2) primary hospital characteristics, 3) primary physician specialty, 4) health care resources at the hospital and regional levels, and 5) historical trend.

Results

Taiwanese cancer patients who received primary care in a hospital with an inpatient hospice unit (whether or not they received hospice care) were significantly less likely to be intubated (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.58, 0.86) and use mechanical ventilation support (AOR: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.56, 0.87) in their last month of life. They also were more likely to use hospice care before death (AOR: 3.51; 95% CI: 1.57, 7.86). Furthermore, if they used hospice care, they tended to be referred earlier than cancer patients being cared for in a hospital without an inpatient hospice unit.

Conclusion

Integrating both acute care and palliative care approaches to caring for terminally ill cancer patients in the same hospital may influence the quality of palliative care throughout the hospital as evidenced by our findings that these patients have lower likelihood of being intubated with mechanical ventilation support in the last month of life, greater propensity to receive hospice care in the last year of life, and a trend toward earlier referral to hospice care. The generalizability of these results may be limited to patients who died of a noncancer cause and by the two groups not being exactly matched for patients’ characteristics.     

Sexuality in palliative care: patient perspectives

This qualitative study investigated the meaning of sexuality to palliative patients. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with ten patients receiving care in a tertiary palliative care unit, a hospice or by palliative home care services in their homes. Several themes emerged. Emotional connection to others was an integral component of sexuality, taking precedence over physical expressions. Sexuality continues to be important at the end of life. Lack of privacy, shared rooms, staff intrusion and single beds were considered barriers to expressing sexuality in the hospital and hospice settings. Only one subject had previously been asked about sexuality as part of their clinical care, yet all felt that it should have been brought up, especially after the initial cancer treatments were completed. Home care nurses and physicians were seen as the appropriate caregivers to address this issue. Subjects unanimously mentioned that a holistic approach to palliative care would include opportunities to discuss the impact of their illness on their sexuality.     

Frequency of symptom distress and poor prognostic indicators in palliative cancer patients admitted to a tertiary palliative care unit, hospices, and acute care hospitals

The Edmonton Regional Palliative Care Program was established to increase access to palliative care for terminal cancer patients in the region. Inpatient care is delivered, in decreasing order to distress, at the tertiary palliative care unit, by consult teams in acute care facilities, and in hospices. We reviewed the admission data for all patients discharged from the program between November 1, 1997, and October 31, 1998, in order to determine if demographical and clinical variables suggested appropriate use of the three levels of care. Patients admitted to the tertiary palliative care unit were significantly younger than those admitted to acute care of hospices (61 years versus 68 years and 71 years respectively, p < 0.0001), had a higher frequency of positive screening for alcoholism in the CAGE questionnaire (27% versus 16% and 14% respectively, p < 0.0001), and a higher frequency of poor prognostic pain syndromes as compared to acute care admissions (87% versus 65%, p < 0.0001). Overall, frequency of symptoms and severe symptoms was significantly higher in patients admitted to the palliative care unit than those admitted to the other two settings. Our results suggest that patients with demographic and clinical indications of higher distress are more frequently admitted to the tertiary palliative care unit. The clinical tools are useful predictors of utilization that can be used for monitoring health care delivery.     

Aggressive End-of-Life Care Significantly Influenced Propensity for Hospice Enrollment Within the Last Three Days of Life for Taiwanese Cancer Decedents

ContextLate hospice enrollment exacts a substantial toll from patients, families, hospices, and society. The relationship between the propensity for late hospice enrollment and aggressive health services received at the end of life (EOL) has been underinvestigated.ObjectivesTo identify determinants of hospice enrollment within the last three days of life.MethodsRetrospective population-based cohort study using administrative data for 31,529 Taiwanese cancer decedents who used hospice care in their last year of life.ResultsRates of hospice enrollment within the last three days of life (16.80%–18.73%) remained constant over 2001–2006. After adjustment for patient demographics and disease characteristics, physician specialty, availability of health care resources at the hospital and regional levels, and historical trends, late hospice enrollment was more likely if Taiwanese cancer patients received chemotherapy, had multiple emergency room visits or hospital admissions, and used the intensive care unit in their last month of life (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval] (AOR [95% CI]): 1.61 [1.44–1.80], 1.40 [1.29–1.52], 1.78 [1.51–2.09], and 1.45 [1.19–1.76], respectively). Late hospice enrollment was less likely for patients with hospital stays >14 days or who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation in their last month of life (AOR [95% CI]: 0.51 [0.45–0.58] and 0.41 [0.25–0.65], respectively).ConclusionAggressive EOL care played a more significant role than patient, physician, or hospital characteristics in determining the propensity of Taiwanese cancer patients to be enrolled in hospice care within their last three days of life. Clinical and health policies should aim to avoid aggressive care when it will not benefit patients but may preclude timely hospice enrollment.     

Prospective validation of the palliative prognostic index in patients with cancer

The Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI) was devised and validated in patients with cancer in a hospice inpatient unit in Japan. The aim of this study was to test its accuracy in a different population, in a range of care settings and in those receiving palliative chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The information required to calculate the PPI was recorded for patients referred to a hospital-based consultancy palliative care service, a hospice home care service, and a hospice inpatient unit. One hundred ninety-four patients were included in the study, 43% of whom were receiving chemotherapy /or radiotherapy or both. Use of the PPI split patients into three subgroups based on PPI score. Group 1 corresponded to patients with PPI4 and 6, median survival five days (95% CI 3, 11). Using the PPI, survival of less than three weeks was predicted with a positive predictive value of 86% and negative predictive value of 76%. Survival of less than six weeks was predicted with a positive predictive value of 91% and negative predictive value of 64%. The PPI is quick and easy to use, and can be applied to patients with cancer, in hospital, in hospice, and at home. It may be used by general physicians to achieve prognostic accuracy comparable, if not superior, to that of physicians experienced in oncology and palliative care, and by oncology and palliative care specialists, to improve the accuracy of their survival predictions.     

Pattern and characteristics of advanced cancer patients admitted to hospices in Italy

The aim of this multicenter study was to assess the pattern and the characteristics of advanced cancer patients admitted to hospices. A consecutive sample of patients admitted in a period of 6 months was taken into consideration. Two hundred thirty-six patients admitted to hospices were consecutively assessed. Ninety-six percent of patients were admitted in acute hospital in the previous 3 months, with a mean time spent in hospital of 34.5 days, and 47 % of patients had received chemotherapy the month before hospice admission. Thirty-four percent of patients for whom data were available had significant persistent pain, and 44 % of them presented episodes of breakthrough pain. Sixty-one percent of patients were receiving opioid drugs at admission, and 70 % the day before death, with parenteral morphine and transdermal fentanyl being the opioids most frequently administered. The mean admission time in hospice was 18.4 days. Eighty-six percent died in hospice. Palliative sedation was performed in 25 % of patients who died in hospice. The short survival and the number of patients dying in hospice were the principal finding, as it appears that hospice admission is only one way for end of life treatments. Patients receive specialized palliative care only for 2–3 weeks before death, implying an inacceptable timing for patients with several problems presumed to be present early during the course of disease. Data from hospice activities in Italy strongly suggest to spread palliative care in other settings, other than home care and hospice, to intercept oncologic patients in their disease trajectory early.     

Hydration management at the end of life

The management of parenteral hydration at the end of life remains controversial. The debate centers on whether and/or how often patients should be hydrated, the volume of hydration received, and the benefit verses side effects of parenteral hydration. In order to clarify the routine practice of physicians involved in the end-of-life care in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, we investigated the routine management of hydration by attending physicians caring for patients dying in a palliative care unit (PCU) at Norwood Capital Care, and in acute care wards at the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) both while receiving and while not receiving consult advice from the Palliative Care Program. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 50 consecutive patients who died in each of the 3 sites included in the study. Data from the last 7 days prior to and including the date of death (day 0) was recorded. The majority of patients at all sites received hydration. The volume of hydration ordered in the Norwood PCU site was significantly different compared to both RAH groups on all days studied (p < 0.005). The RAH palliative care group showed a trend for lower hydration volumes compared to the RAH acute care group with significant differences on days 1 and 2 (p < 0.05). Throughout the week, for all of the hydrated patients in the Norwood PCU site, hypodermoclysis (HDC) was ordered; for nearly all of the hydrated patients in the RAH acute care group, intravenous (IV) hydration was ordered; and for approximately one third of the hydrated RAH palliative care consult group HDC was ordered, and for the remainder IV hydration was ordered. The RAH acute care group represented the largest percentage of hydrated patients receiving diuretics while the Norwood hospice site represented the lowest. The data raise the possibility that more patients in the RAH acute care group were overhydrated and may have developed symptoms such as edema, ascites, and respiratory distress. This study suggests that hydration at the end of life is managed differently in different settings of care and highlights areas for education to improve management.     

A model of palliative care: the palliative medicine program of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation

 Patients with advanced diseases, both cancer and noncancer, experience high symptom prevalence and psychosocial distress. Multiple unmet needs in the physical, psychosocial and spiritual domains are common. In the United States, palliative medicine is an emerging discipline that focuses on meeting these needs to achieve optimal quality of life for the patient–family unit. The majority of palliative care programs in the U.S. are consultation based. In contrast, the Palliative Medicine Program of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation offers multidisciplinary, comprehensive care from a primary or a consultative focus. The program has clinical, research, and educational components. Established as a consultation service in 1987, the clinical component now includes inpatient and outpatient consultation services, a dedicated acute care inpatient hospital unit, outpatient palliative medicine and cancer pain clinics, palliative home care, hospice home care and hospice residential care. Over 800 new patient consultations took place in 1997. In this paper, development of the program and its structure are described. Challenges to effective communication in a large program within a tertiary care institution are discussed, and strategies designed to meet these challenges are presented. Published online: 29 May 2000     

Aggressiveness of End-of-Life Care for Patients With Colorectal Cancer in Alberta,Canada: 2006–2009

ContextNorth American studies have documented practice variations and deficiencies in end-of-life (EOL) cancer care, such as trends toward treating dying patients aggressively and disparities in access to palliative care or hospice services.ObjectivesTo assess the frequency of aggressive health care usage at the EOL and identify factors associated with receiving aggressive care among patients who died of colorectal cancer.MethodsData from the Alberta Cancer Registry, in/outpatient hospital records, and cancer electronic medical records were linked. Death in an acute care hospital, chemotherapy use in the last 14 days of life, more than one emergency room (ER) visit, more than one hospital admission, and any intensive care unit (ICU) admission in the last 30 days of life were used as indicators of aggressive care. Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors associated with each indicator.ResultsA total of 2074 patients were included: 50.1% died in an acute care hospital; 3.7% received chemotherapy in the last 14 days of life; and 12.5% had multiple ER visits, 9.5% had multiple hospitalizations, and 2.2% had an ICU admission during the last 30 days of life. Age had the strongest association with chemotherapy use. Geographical region of residence had the strongest association with multiple ER visits and hospitalizations and dying in an acute care hospital. Tumor stage and duration of disease were associated with the ICU admission.ConclusionThe percentage of patients who died in an acute care hospital is higher than the 17% U.S. benchmark. Other indicators of receiving aggressive EOL care are consistent with existing care quality benchmarks. The considerable regional variation, however, indicates potential for system improvements.     

Can multidisciplinary guidelines improve the palliation of symptoms in the terminal phase of dementia?

Dementia is a progressive terminal disease. More than 95% of patients will require 24-hour care either in long-stay hospital wards or in nursing homes at the end of life. There are many issues in the care of patients with dementia that parallel palliative cancer care, but relatively few patients with dementia currently access palliative care. Following an initial audit that found that many patients dying with dementia had symptoms that were not palliated, multidisciplinary guidelines were developed jointly by medical and nursing staff working in psychiatry for older people, together with pharmacy and palliative care staff. Following the implementation of guidelines, there was a significant decrease in the prescribing of antibiotics in the last 2 weeks of life and patients were much more likely to be prescribed analgesia, including opiates. This small study suggests that when developed collaboratively, multidisciplinary guidelines can have a positive impact on palliative care for non-oncology patients.     

Does Receipt of Recommended Elements of Palliative Care Precede In-Hospital Death or Hospice Referral?

ContextPalliative care aligns treatments with patients' values and improves quality of life, yet whether receipt of recommended elements of palliative care is associated with end-of-life outcomes is understudied.ObjectivesTo assess whether recommended elements of palliative care (pain and symptom management, goals of care, and spiritual care) precede in-hospital death and hospice referral and whether delivery by specialty palliative care affects that relationship.MethodsWe conducted structured chart reviews for decedents with late-stage cancer, dementia, and chronic kidney disease with a hospital admission during the six months preceding death. Measures included receipt of recommended elements of palliative care delivered by any clinician and specialty palliative care consult. We assessed associations between recommended elements of palliative care and in-hospital death and hospice referral using multivariable Poisson regression models.ResultsOf 402 decedents, 67 (16.7%) died in hospital, and 168 (41.8%) had hospice referral. Among elements of palliative care, only goals-of-care discussion was associated with in-hospital death (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.37; 95% CI 1.01–1.84) and hospice referral (IRR 1.85; 95% CI 1.31–2.61). Specialty palliative care consult was associated with a lower likelihood of in-hospital death (IRR 0.57; 95% CI 0.44–0.73) and a higher likelihood of hospice referral (IRR 1.45; 95% CI 1.12–1.89) compared with no consult.ConclusionGoals-of-care discussions by different types of clinicians commonly precede end-of-life care in hospital or hospice. However, engagement with specialty palliative care reduced in-hospital death and increased hospice referral. Understanding the causal pathways of goals-of-care discussions may help build primary palliative care interventions to support patients near the end of life.     

A program of hospice and palliative care in a private, nonprofit U.S. Teaching hospital

A hospice and palliative care program was established at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, a 773-bed private nonprofit hospital located in the urban center of Chicago. The program consists of three components: consultation service, acute inpatient unit, and home-hospice program. The consultation service saw an average of 57 new patients per month (range 45-80) in fiscal year 1997. The 12-bed acute care inpatient unit had an average midnight census of 9.8 in fiscal 1996. This decreased to 6.9 in fiscal 1997 due to new treatment approaches for AIDS and has rebounded to nine in the third quarter of fiscal 1998. The unit cares for more than one third of dying patients in the hospital. Patients do not have to access hospice insurance benefits to be admitted to the unit. The home-hospice program has a median length of stay of 31 days and serves patients living within the city limits of Chicago. A total of 800 patients were referred to the program, and 370 patients died in the program in fiscal 1997. A total of 219 different physicians were attending physicians for patients in the program during a 3- year period. Revenue exceeded direct expenses by $1.48 million. Fee-for-service billing for physician services outside of those provided or billed under the Medicare Hospice Benefit are not included in these figures. The group practice that bills for the physicians collected an average of 50.5% of billed charges over 4 years. We conclude that a program of hospice and palliative care can be successful in a private teaching hospital in the United States.     

Developing triggers for the surgical intensive care unit for palliative care integration

PurposeDespite the growing acceptance of palliative care as a component of high-quality care for patients with serious illness, it remains underutilized in the surgical critical care setting. This article provides insight into a model for palliative care integration into the surgical intensive care unit (SICU), using triggers.MethodsWe performed a prospective cohort study after the implementation of a new set of palliative care triggers in the SICU of an 1170-bed tertiary medical center over the course of 9 months. We aimed to determine the ability of these triggers to identify patients who would benefit from palliative care consultation.ResultsThere were 517 SICU admissions during the period of interest. Of this cohort, patients who had not yet been discharged at the time of analysis were excluded (n = 25), and the remaining underwent analysis (n = 492). Factors significantly associated with hospital death or hospice discharge were repeat SICU admission, metastatic/advanced cancer, SICU physician referral, and the matching of 2 or more secondary criteria.ConclusionsA series of triggers can help identify patients who may benefit from palliative care consultation. This approach can be used in intensive care settings to facilitate palliative care integration.     

The dying patient: Pain management at the hospice level

Hospice care has irrevocably changed the landscape of healthcare. First seen as an alternative to dying in the impersonal, highly technical environment of the hospital, it provides comprehensive palliative, supportive care in patient-oriented settings, usually at home or, in some instances, special hospice units. Now the challenges of hospice care largely go beyond the philosophic to include the organizational, demographic, and pragmatic difficulties of providing such care in various settings. This article discusses some of those challenges, including a number of principles and techniques gleaned particularly from the hospice experience for successful pain management in the home setting.     

The status of complementary therapy services in Canadian palliative care settings

Goal of work Little is known about complementary therapy services (CTs) available in Canadian palliative care settings. Materials and methods An online survey was e-mailed to multiple Canadian palliative care settings to determine the types and frequency of CTs provided and allowed, who are the CT providers, funding of CT services, and barriers to the provision of CTs. Main results The response rate was 54% (74/136). Eleven percent of surveyed palliative care settings provided CTs, and 45% allowed CTs to be brought in or to be used by patients. The three most commonly used CTs were music (57%), massage therapy (57%), and therapeutic touch (48%). Less than 25% of patients received CTs in the settings that provided and/or allowed these therapies. CTs were mostly provided by volunteers, and at most settings, limited or no funding was available. Barriers to the delivery of CTs included lack of funding (67%), insufficient knowledge of CTs by staff (49%), and limited knowledge on how to successfully operate a CT service (44%). For settings that did not provide or allow CTs, 44% felt it was important or very important for their patients to have access to CTs. The most common reasons not to provide or allow CTs were insufficient staff knowledge of CTs (67%) and lack of CT personnel (44%). Conclusions Overall, these findings were similar to those reported in a US-based hospice survey after which this survey was patterned. Possible reasons for these shared findings and important directions regarding the future of CT service provision in Canadian palliative care setting are discussed.