A case-control study of end-of-life antimicrobial use in Non-hospitalized hospice patients in the United States.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Antimicrobials are frequently prescribed to hospice patients despite limited data on their utility.^1-3 The Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) has been used for survival prediction among cancer patients and further generalized to end-of-life (EOL) diagnoses.⁴ This study aims to identify characteristics associated with antimicrobial usage within 30 days of EOL in non-hospitalized outpatient hospice patients from a single center in the United States (US).

Methods/study design

We analyzed data on 1,111 hospice deaths from 2019. From these data, patients were divided into two groups: those who received antimicrobials at EOL (n = 212) and equally randomly computer-generated control group who did not. Fisher's exact test and Wilcoxon rank sum test w

SUBMITTER: Fong K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12415798 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature