Children with cancer at the end of life in a middle-income country: integrated pediatric palliative care improves outcomes.
BMC Palliat Care
; 23(1): 31, 2024 Feb 02.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38302931
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
In 2020, the Global Cancer Observatory reported 280,000 cases of childhood cancer worldwide, with a higher burden of disease and mortality rates in low- and middle-income countries. In 2022, the National Institute of Health reported 1708 new cases of childhood cancer in Colombia and an overall survival rate of approximately 55%. The aim of this study is to compare outcomes in children with cancer in the hospital setting during the last 72 h of life who received concurrent Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC) versus oncology care alone.METHODS:
An observational descriptive study was conducted between January 2013 and June 2022 in a center for pediatric patients with oncological diagnoses. In 2017, the PPC team was created. Patients between 28 days and 17 years of age who were hospitalized at least 72 h before death were included. A retrospective review of the medical records of patients in the last 72 h of life was performed. Two cohorts were established oncology-alone group received exclusive management by oncology, and oncology and PPC received concurrent oncology and PPC management since the diagnosis.RESULTS:
We evaluated 257 medical records of deceased pediatric patients with cancer diagnoses. For the first cohort (2013-2017), 136 patients were included; for the second cohort (2018 and 2022), 121 patients were evaluated. The most frequent diagnosis was leukemia [47.1% (n = 121)]. No significant difference was found in either group between dyspnea, pain, and seizures. Dyspnea was the most frequent symptom in both groups. Agitation and anxiety were reported more frequently in children from the oncology-alone group (22.1% and 13.2%, respectively). The oncology and PPC group received more psychology and social work consultation (94.2% and 70.2% vs. 84.6 and 54.4% in the oncology alone group) and had a higher percentage of advance care planning (79.3% vs. 62.5% in the oncology alone group).CONCLUSIONS:
This retrospective study highlights that PPC at the end of life (EoL) offers a holistic approach to the physical and psychosocial symptoms experienced by children with cancer; these patients received more comfort through symptom management and less aggressive treatment at the EoL. The availability of a PPC team may contribute to improvements in the quality of end-of-life care. TRIAL REGISTRATION retrospectively registered.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Cuidado Terminal
/
Neoplasias
Tipo de estudio:
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Child
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BMC Palliat Care
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Colombia
Pais de publicación:
Reino Unido