Palliative care team in a Brazilian tertiary emergency department

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the process of implementing a palliative care team (PCT) in a Brazilian public tertiary university hospital and compare this intervention as an active in-hospital search (strategy I) with the Emergency Department (strategy II). Methods:We described the development of a complex Palliative Care Team (PCT). We evaluated the following primary outcomes: hospital discharge, death (in-hospital and follow-up mortality) or transfer, and performance outcomes-Perception Index (difference in days between hospitalization and the evaluation by the PTC), follow-up index (difference in days between the PTC evaluation and the primary outcome), and the in-hospital stay. Results:We included 1203 patients-strategy I (587; 48.8%) and strategy II (616; 51.2%). In both strategies, male and elderly patients were prevalent. Most came from internal medicine I (39.3%) and II (57.9%), p < 0.01. General clinical conditions (40%) and Oncology I (27.7%) and II (32.4%) represented the majority of the population. Over 70% of all patients had PPS 10 and ECOG 4 above 85%. There was a reduction of patients identified in ICU from I (20.9%) to II (9.2%), p < 0.01, reduction in the ward from I (60.8%) to II (42.5%), p < 0.01 and a significant increase from I (18.2%) to II (48.2%) in the emergency department, p < 0.01. Regarding in-hospital mortality, 50% of patients remained alive within 35 days of hospitalization (strategy I), while for strategy II, 50% were alive within 20 days of hospitalization (p < 0.01). As for post-discharge mortality, in strategy II, 50% of patients died 10 days after hospital discharge, while in strategy I, this number was 40 days (p < 0.01). In the Cox multivariate regression model, adjusting for possible confounding factors, strategy II increased 30% the chance of death. The perception index decreased from 10.9 days to 9.1 days, there was no change in follow-up (12 days), and the duration of in-hospital stay dropped from 24.3 to 20.7 days, p < 0.01. The primary demand was the definition of prognosis (56.7%). Conclusion:The present work showed that early intervention by an elaborate and complex PCT in the ED was associated with a faster perception of the need for palliative care and influenced a reduction in the length of hospital stay in a very dependent and compromised old population.

Unplanned Hospital Admissions in Patients With Solid Tumors in Brazil: Causes and Progressive Disease's Impact on Outcomes

“…In Brazil, it is common practice to document PD as a medical diagnosis, whereas in other countries this practice is less prevalent. In the setting of unplanned admissions, the early integration of palliative care reduces length of stay and its associated costs 33,34 while simultaneously alleviating symptom burden, 35 a critical consideration for patients with PD. Furthermore, identifying suitable long-term discharge options, such as long-term acute care hospitals, hospice care, or home settings, is crucial.…”