Table 1 Characteristics of cancer and non-cancer VNS patients
| Â | Cancer | Non-cancer | Â | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Â | 1664 | 2511 | p-value | ||
| Â | n | % | n | % | Â |
Cause of death | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Cancer | 1664 | 100 |  |  |  |
   Old age |  |  | 539 | 21.5 |  |
   Heart disease |  |  | 504 | 20.1 |  |
   Pneumonia |  |  | 481 | 19.2 |  |
   Cerebrovascular disease |  |  | 215 | 8.6 |  |
   Others |  |  | 772 | 30.7 |  |
Place of death | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Home | 701 | 42.1 | 1229 | 48.9 | < 0.001 |
   Hospital | 963 | 57.9 | 1282 | 51.1 |  |
Age at death | 76.3 ± 11.0 | 84.1 ± 10.0 | < 0.001 | ||
Gender | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Male | 993 | 59.7 | 1199 | 47.7 | < 0.001 |
   Female | 671 | 40.3 | 1312 | 52.3 |  |
ADL dependence | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   J (Almost independent) | 220 | 13.2 | 136 | 5.4 | < 0.001 |
   A (Home bound) | 259 | 15.6 | 335 | 13.3 |  |
   B (Chair bound) | 446 | 26.7 | 604 | 24.1 |  |
   C (Completely bedbound) | 678 | 40.7 | 1388 | 55.3 |  |
Cognitive impairment | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Independent | 946 | 56.9 | 567 | 22.6 | < 0.001 |
   I (Almost independent) | 319 | 19.2 | 536 | 21.3 |  |
   II (Occasional monitoring) | 160 | 9.6 | 399 | 15.9 |  |
   III (Daily care assistance) | 120 | 7.2 | 416 | 16.6 |  |
   IV (Continuous daily care assistance) | 90 | 5.4 | 398 | 15.9 |  |
   M (Special professional care) | 29 | 1.8 | 195 | 7.8 |  |
Patient's preference for site of death | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Home | 810 | 48.7 | 843 | 33.6 | < 0.001 |
   Hospital | 207 | 12.4 | 145 | 5.8 |  |
   Unknown | 647 | 38.9 | 1523 | 60.7 |  |
Family's preference for site of death | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Home | 700 | 42.1 | 1073 | 42.7 | < 0.001 |
   Hospital | 634 | 38.1 | 578 | 23.0 |  |
   Unknown | 330 | 19.8 | 860 | 34.2 |  |
Family caregiver | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   None/present only at night | 270 | 16.2 | 483 | 19.2 | 0.013 |
   Present at all times | 1394 | 83.8 | 2028 | 80.8 |  |
Type of insurance | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Health insurance | 1052 | 63.2 | 491 | 19.6 | < 0.001 |
   Long term care insurance | 612 | 36.8 | 2020 | 80.4 |  |
Duration of VNS services | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   25 percentile | 14 days | 37 days | < 0.001 | ||
   50 percentile | 40 days | 161 days |  | ||
   75 percentile | 126 days | 639 days |  | ||
Use of 24-hour VNS services | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Yes | 1410 | 84.7 | 2025 | 80.6 | < 0.001 |
Where physician is based | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Hospital | 819 | 49.2 | 982 | 39.1 | < 0.001 |
   Clinic | 812 | 48.8 | 1450 | 57.7 |  |
Use of home help services | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Yes | 547 | 32.9 | 1413 | 56.3 | < 0.001 |
ADL and cognition | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Severely impaired in both ADL and cognition | 94 | 5.7 | 510 | 20.3 | < 0.001 |
   Severely impaired in ADL, but not severely in cognition | 584 | 35.1 | 878 | 35.0 |  |
   Not severely impaired in ADL, but severely in cognition | 25 | 1.5 | 81 | 3.2 |  |
   Neither severely impaired in ADL nor in cognition | 900 | 54.1 | 995 | 39.6 |  |
Patient's and family's preference for death at home | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Both prefer at home | 553 | 33.2 | 613 | 24.4 | < 0.001 |
   Only the patient prefers at home | 260 | 15.6 | 230 | 9.2 |  |
   Only the family prefers at home | 147 | 8.9 | 460 | 18.3 |  |
   Neither prefers at home | 704 | 42.3 | 1208 | 48.1 |  |