Preliminary statistical assessment of intervention by a palliative care team working in a Japanese general inpatient unit.

The effectiveness of intervention by the palliative care team at the University of Tokyo Hospital was assessed using the Support Team Assessment Schedule. During the study, 316 consecutive patients with malignant tumor disease were referred to the palliative care team, which assessed 11 physical symptoms. Results were tested by paired t test to calculate 95% confidence intervals comparing the mean Support Team Assessment Schedule scores for each symptom from the first time to the last time after palliative care intervention. The study concluded that (1) intervention by a palliative care team in general inpatient units can effectively control pain, nausea, and vomiting in patients up until the terminal stage; (2) it is likely that cough is controllable in the terminal stage with intervention by a palliative care team; (3) mouth dryness, anorexia, constipation, diarrhea, fatigue, and ascites are difficult to alleviate in the long term even with palliative intervention.