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abstract
Highlights
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- Reviews timing and location of end of life discussions with gyn-oncology patients
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- Evaluates compliance with National Quality Forum (NQF) metrics of care
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- A high rate of inpatient and late end of life discussions is noted in this cohort.
Objective
This
study describes the patterns of end of life (EOL) discussions and their
impact on the use of aggressive measures in women with terminal
gynecologic malignancies at a single institution.
Methods
An
IRB-approved retrospective chart review identified 136 patients who
died of gynecologic cancer between 2010 and 2012 with at least one
interaction with their oncologists in the last 6 months of life.
Aggressive measures were defined as chemotherapy within the last 14 days
of life, emergency department (ED) visits, hospital and intensive care
unit (ICU) admissions within the last 30 days of life, and inpatient
deaths. The frequency and timing of EOL conversations were recorded.
Utilization of hospice care was also described.
Results
In
the last 30 days of life, 54 (40%) patients were evaluated in the ED,
67 (49%) were admitted into hospital, and 16 (12%) were admitted to the
ICU. Thirteen patients (10%) had chemotherapy in the last 14 days of
life. Ninety-seven (71%) patients had a documented EOL conversation,
eighteen (19%) as outpatients, and 79 (81%) as inpatients. Thirty (22%)
patients died in the hospital. At the time of death, 55 (40%) patients
were enrolled in outpatient hospice care. The mean amount of time in
hospice was 28 days.
Conclusions
End
of life care discussions rarely occurred in the outpatient setting or
> 30 days before death. Inpatient encounters led to discussions about
hospice and code status. Evaluation in the ED frequently resulted in
escalation of care. Earlier EOL care discussions resulted in less
aggressive measures.
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