Table 3 The effect of PC decision timing on the use of hospital services
Number of patients N = 94 | Late PC decision (≤ 30 days) (N = 43) | Early PC decision (> 30 days) (N = 51) | P-value (χ2 test) |
|---|---|---|---|
Last anticancer treatment | < 0.001 | ||
No treatment 60 days before death 60 − 31 days before death 30 − 14 days before death < 14 days before death | 15 (16%) 2 (2%) 14 (15%) 12 (13%) | 41 (44%) 8 (9%) 0 2 (2%) | |
“Do not resuscitate” order Made by a clinical oncologist Made by another specialist | 19 (20%) 7 (37%) 12 (63%) | 18 (19%) 10 (56%) 8 (44%) | 0.379 |
Number of the patients who visited the Palliative Care Center | 4 (4%) | 17 (18%) | 0.005* |
Number of the patients who visited the Psychosocial Support Unit | 9 (10%) | 9 (10%) | 0.687 |
Number of the patients who used tertiary hospital services in the last 30 days of life | |||
Emergency department visits Hospitalization at university hospital | 18 (19%) 15 (16%) | 2 (2%) 0 (0%) | < 0.001* < 0.001* |
Place of death | 0.336 | ||
Home Hospice Specialized palliative care ward in a community hospital General primary care hospital ward Tertiary hospital Nursing home | 1 (1%) 8 (9%) 8 (9%) 20 (21%) 5 (5%) 1 (1%) | 4 (4%) 14 (15%) 10 (11%) 19 (20%) 1 (1%) 3 (3%) |