Palliative Care Utilisation and Outcomes in Patients Admitted for Heart Failure in a Victorian Healthcare Service.
Heart Lung Circ
; 33(7): 1058-1066, 2024 Jul.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38461106
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Heart failure (HF) has high mortality and healthcare utilisation. It has a complex and unpredictable trajectory, which is often interpreted as a barrier to guideline recommended early integration of palliative care (PC). In particular, lack of referral criteria and misconceptions around PC affect inpatient specialist PC referrals.AIMS:
The main objective was to characterise the pattern and predictors of referral of HF patients to the specialist inpatient PC consultative service at our healthcare service.METHODS:
A retrospective, single-centre cohort study was performed on consecutive patients admitted across the hospital with HF over a 12-month period (July 2019-June 2020). Mortality data were checked against state death registry data.RESULTS:
The 502 patients admitted for HF were elderly (mean age 78±14 years), had high dependency (54% Australian-modified Karnofsky Performance Status (AKPS) 50-70, 29% AKPS 10-40), and high mortality (53% within median 32 months at death registry data linkage). Seven per cent (7%) were referred to inpatient specialist PC. AKPS 10-40 (62% of those referred vs 26% not referred, p<0.01), reliance on carers (65% vs 36%, p<0.01), and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III-IV symptoms (86% vs 42%, p<0.01) were associated with referral, but two or more admissions in the last 12 months for HF were not (16% vs 10%, p=0.21). Many PC domains, such as symptom burden, distress, and preferred care, were not adequately assessed.CONCLUSIONS:
Referral to inpatient specialist PC in hospitalised HF patients is low relative to the morbidity and mortality in these patients.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Cuidados Paliativos
/
Insuficiencia Cardíaca
Límite:
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Región como asunto:
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Heart Lung Circ
Asunto de la revista:
ANGIOLOGIA
/
CARDIOLOGIA
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
Pais de publicación:
Australia