Table 1 Characteristics of patients admitted to the Queen Elizabeth II Palliative Care Program between Jan 1, 1998 and Dec 31, 2002 and died during the same period
Characteristic | Number of patients* (%) |
|---|---|
Sex | Â |
   Female | 1925 (48.5) |
   Male | 2047 (51.5) |
Age, years | Â |
< 60 | 992 (25.1) |
60–69 | 873 (22.1) |
70–79 | 1208 (30.6) |
≥ 80 | 878 (22.2) |
Year of admission to PCP | Â |
1998 | 883 (22.2) |
1999 | 824 (20.8) |
2000 | 876 (22.1) |
2001 | 771 (19.4) |
2002 | 618 (15.6) |
Year of death | Â |
1998 | 645 (16.2) |
1999 | 820 (20.7) |
2000 | 858 (21.6) |
2001 | 824 (20.8) |
2002 | 824 (20.8) |
Survival (days) | Â |
0–30 | 1605 (40.4) |
31–60 | 723 (18.2) |
61–90 | 432 (10.9) |
91–120 | 251 (6.3) |
121+ | 960 (24.2) |
Location of death | Â |
   Hospital death (not in PCP unit) | 2009 (50.6) |
   Inpatient PCP unit | 635 (16.0) |
Home | 1218 (30.7) |
Long-term care facility | 110 (2.8) |
Diagnoses, summarized | Â |
Lung cancer | 1025 (26.1) |
All other cancers | 2525 (64.3) |
Other disease, no cancer | 375 (9.6) |
Caregiver relationship | Â |
Spouse | 2165 (57.8) |
Child | 1017 (27.2) |
Parents / other relations | 448 (12.0) |
Other | 116 (3.1) |
Primary reasons for referral to PCP | Â |
(responses are not exclusive) | Â |
Pain | 1630 (41.0) |
Other symptoms | 1868 (47.0) 1729 (43.5) |
Patient support | 1729 (43.5) |
Family support | 1620 (40.8) |
Staff support | 317 (8.0) |
Home consultation | 1067 (26.9) |
Terminal care | 345 (8.7) |
Respite care | 5 (0.1) |
Grief | 19 (0.5) |