Palliative Care Utilization among Patients Admitted for Gastrointestinal and Thoracic Cancers.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Although a growing body of literature recommends the early initiation of palliative care (PC), the use of PC remains variable. OBJECTIVE:The current study sought to describe the use of PC and to identify factors associated with the use of inpatient PC. DESIGN:Retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of data from the National Inpatient Sample. SETTING AND SUBJECTS:Patients admitted with a primary diagnosis of gastrointestinal and/or thoracic cancer from 2012 to 2013. MEASUREMENTS:In-hospital length of stay (LOS), morbidity, mortality, and total charges. RESULTS:A total of 282,899 patients were identified who met inclusion criteria of whom, 24,100 (8.5%) patients received a PC consultation during their inpatient admission. Patients who received PC were more likely to have a longer

SUBMITTER: Gani F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6016727 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature