Chen-Yi Kao1, Hung-Ming Wang1, Shu-Chuan Tang2, Kuan-Gen Huang3, Tang-Her Jaing4, Chien-Ying Liu5, Keng-Hao Liu6, Wen-Chi Shen1, Jin-Hou Wu1, Yu-Shin Hung1, Hung-Chih Hsu1, Jen-Shi Chen1, Chi-Ting Liau1, Yung-Chang Lin1, Po-Jung Su1, Chia-Hsun Hsieh1, Wen-Chi Chou7. 1. Division of Hematology-Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China. 2. Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China. 3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China. 4. Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Children's Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China. 5. Department of Thoracic Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China. 6. Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China. 7. Division of Hematology-Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China. Electronic address: wenchi3992@yahoo.com.tw.
Abstract
CONTEXT: Since the development of palliative care in the 1980s, "do not resuscitate" (DNR) has been promoted worldwide to avoid unnecessary resuscitation in terminally ill cancer patients. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a palliative care consultation service (PCCS) on DNR designation and to identify a subgroup of patients who would potentially benefit from care by the PCCS with respect to DNR designation. METHODS: In total, 2995 terminally ill cancer patients (with a predicted life expectancy of less than six months by clinician estimate) who received care by the PCCS between January 2006 and December 2010 at a single medical center in Taiwan were selected. Among these, the characteristics of 2020 (67.4%) patients who were not designated as DNR at the beginning of care by the PCCS were retrospectively analyzed to identify variables pertinent to DNR designation. RESULTS: A total of 1301 (64%) of 2020 patients were designated as DNR at the end of care by the PCCS. Male gender and primary liver cancer were characteristics more predominantly found among DNR-designated patients who also had worse performance status, higher prevalence of physical distress, and shorter intervals from palliative care referral to death than did patients without DNR designation. On univariate analysis, a higher probability of DNR designation was associated with male gender, duration of care by the PCCS of more than 14 days, patients' prognostic awareness, family's diagnostic and prognostic awareness, and high Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI) scores. On multivariate analysis, duration of care by the PCCS, patients' prognostic awareness, family's diagnostic and prognostic awareness, and a high PPI score constituted independent variables predicting DNR-designated patients at the end of care by the PCCS. CONCLUSION: DNR designation was late in terminally ill cancer patients. DNR-designated cancer patient indicators were high PPI scores, patients' prognostic awareness, family's diagnostic and prognostic awareness, and longer durations of care by the PCCS.
CONTEXT: Since the development of palliative care in the 1980s, "do not resuscitate" (DNR) has been promoted worldwide to avoid unnecessary resuscitation in terminally ill cancerpatients. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a palliative care consultation service (PCCS) on DNR designation and to identify a subgroup of patients who would potentially benefit from care by the PCCS with respect to DNR designation. METHODS: In total, 2995 terminally ill cancerpatients (with a predicted life expectancy of less than six months by clinician estimate) who received care by the PCCS between January 2006 and December 2010 at a single medical center in Taiwan were selected. Among these, the characteristics of 2020 (67.4%) patients who were not designated as DNR at the beginning of care by the PCCS were retrospectively analyzed to identify variables pertinent to DNR designation. RESULTS: A total of 1301 (64%) of 2020 patients were designated as DNR at the end of care by the PCCS. Male gender and primary liver cancer were characteristics more predominantly found among DNR-designated patients who also had worse performance status, higher prevalence of physical distress, and shorter intervals from palliative care referral to death than did patients without DNR designation. On univariate analysis, a higher probability of DNR designation was associated with male gender, duration of care by the PCCS of more than 14 days, patients' prognostic awareness, family's diagnostic and prognostic awareness, and high Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI) scores. On multivariate analysis, duration of care by the PCCS, patients' prognostic awareness, family's diagnostic and prognostic awareness, and a high PPI score constituted independent variables predicting DNR-designated patients at the end of care by the PCCS. CONCLUSION: DNR designation was late in terminally ill cancerpatients. DNR-designated cancerpatient indicators were high PPI scores, patients' prognostic awareness, family's diagnostic and prognostic awareness, and longer durations of care by the PCCS.
Authors: Sandhya K Mudumbi; Claire E Bourgeois; Nicholas A Hoppman; Catherine H Smith; Manisha Verma; Marie A Bakitas; Cynthia J Brown; Alayne D Markland Journal: J Palliat Med Date: 2018-04-26 Impact factor: 2.947