Table 1 The baseline characteristics of patients who visited the emergency department versus those who did not receive care at the emergency department
Characteristics | No ED visit (N = 134) | ED visit (N = 93) |
|---|---|---|
Demographic data | ||
Age (years), mean (SD) | 64.96 (15) | 66.28 (14.4) |
Gender | ||
Male, n (%) | 59 (44) | 56 (60.2) |
Female, n (%) | 75 (56) | 37 (39.8) |
Marital status | ||
Single, n (%) | 22 (16.4) | 21 (22.6) |
Married, n (%) | 92 (68.7) | 58 (62.4) |
Widow, n (%) | 13 (9.7) | 11 (11.8) |
Divorced, n (%) | 7 (5.2) | 3 (3.2) |
Education | ||
Uneducated, n (%) | 1 (1) | 2 (2.7) |
Primary school, n (%) | 33 (31.1) | 21 (28.4) |
High school, n (%) | 39 (36.8) | 18 (24.3) |
Bachelor degree or above, n (%) | 33 (31.1) | 33 (44.6) |
Comorbidities | ||
Hypertension, n (%) | 45 (48.4) | 26 (19.4) |
Dyslipidemia, n (%) | 33 (24.6) | 28 (30.1) |
Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 26 (19.4) | 25 (26.9) |
Cardiovascular disease, n (%) | 7 (5.2) | 7 (7.5) |
Cerebrovascular disease, n (%) | 7 (5.2) | 9 (9.7) |
Cirrhosis, n (%) | 6 (4.5) | 6 (6.4) |
Dementia, n (%) | 7 (5.2) | 4 (4.3) |
End-stage renal disease, n (%) | 1 (0.7) | 4 (4.3) |
Parkinson’s disease, n (%) | 1 (0.7) | 2 (2.1) |
Others, n (%)a | 55 (41) | 34 (36.6) |
Primary site of neoplasm | ||
Colorectum, n (%) | 25 (18.7) | 17 (18.3) |
Bronchus and lung, n (%) | 25 (18.7) | 12 (12.9) |
Liver and bile duct, n (%) | 15 (11.2) | 12 (12.9) |
Breast, n (%) | 12 (9) | 7 (7.5) |
Head and neck, n (%) | 9 (6.7) | 8 (8.6) |
Others, n (%) b | 48 (35.8) | 37 (39.8) |
Metastasis | ||
Lymph node, n (%) | 64 (47.8) | 48 (51.6) |
Lung, n (%) | 57 (42.5) | 39 (41.9) |
Liver, n (%) | 48 (35.8) | 38 (40.9) |
Bone, n (%) | 41 (30.6) | 24 (25.8) |
Peritoneum, n (%) | 20 (14.9) | 20 (21.5) |
Pleura, n (%) | 19 (14.2) | 16 (17.2) |
Brain, n (%) | 11 (8.2) | 10 (10.7) |
Others, n (%) | 23 (17.2) | 20 (21.5) |
Cancer treatments | ||
Chemotherapy, n (%) | 79 (59) | 59 (63.4) |
Surgery, n (%) | 63 (47) | 46 (49.5) |
Radiotherapy, n (%) | 61 (45.5) | 34 (36.6) |
Targeted therapy, n (%) | 13 (9.7) | 9 (9.7) |
Other, n (%) | 6 (4.5) | 3 (3.2) |
PPS at the initial palliative referral mean (SD) | 44.8 (17.7) | 49.8 (15) |
10–40%, n (%) | 72 (53.73) | 33 (35.48) |
50–90%, n (%) | 62 (46.27) | 60 (64.52) |
Caregiver and family data | ||
Place of living | ||
Home, n (%) | 131 (97.8) | 92 (98.9) |
Nursing home, n (%) | 3 (2.2) | 1 (1.1) |
Having caregiver(s), n (%) | 124 (92.5) | 85 (91.4) |
Caregiver type | ||
Paid caregiver, n (%) | 8 (6.4) | 7 (8.2) |
Family caregiver, n (%) | 113 (91.1) | 75 (88.2) |
Both, n (%) | 3 (2.4) | 3 (3.5) |
Number of caregivers | ||
1 person, n (%) | 99 (81.8) | 64 (77.1) |
> 1 person, n (%) | 22 (18.2) | 19 (22.9) |
Family household members | ||
1–4 persons, n (%) | 89 (67.9) | 66 (71.7) |
> 4 persons, n (%) | 42 (32.1) | 26 (28.3) |
Palliative care service data | ||
Place of initial palliative care consultation | ||
Outpatient, n (%) | 43 (32.1) | 38 (40.9) |
Inpatient, n (%) | 87 (64.9) | 51 (54.8) |
ED, n (%) | 4 (3) | 4 (4.3) |
Time from initial palliative consultation to study endpoints | ||
< 16 days, n (%) | 26 (19.4) | 23 (24.7) |
16–100 days, n (%) | 78 (58.2) | 65 (69.9) |
> 100 days, n (%) | 30 (22.4) | 5 (5.4) |
Advance care plan discussion, n (%) | 126 (94) | 85 (91.4) |
Presence of advance directives, n (%) | 9 (6.7) | 5 (5.4) |
Palliative home visit, n (%) | 31 (23.1) | 25 (26.9) |
Number of home visits | ||
1 time, n (%) | 21 (15.7) | 15 (16.1) |
> 1 time, n (%) | 10 (7.4) | 10 (10.7) |
Patient status at the study endpoints | ||
Death, n (%) | 79 (59) | 67 (72) |
Alive, n (%) | 33 (24.6) | 12 (12.9) |
Referral, n (%) | 5 (3.7) | 4 (4.3) |
Loss to follow-up, n (%) | 17 (12.7) | 10 (10.7) |