Hospitalizations and re-hospitalizations at the end-of-life among cancer patients; a retrospective register data study

Table 2 Characterizations of referrals and hospital stays within the last 30 days of life

Demographic and clinical variables	Hospitalizations
Demographic and clinical variables	n = 386	%
Care setting prior to hospitalization
No home care nursing	139	36%
Home care nursing < 1/day	36	9%
Home care nursing > 1 /day	149	39%
Nursing home residency	62	16%
Origin of admission
Direct admission	149	39%
Nursing home	53	14%
PCU	43	11%
Local hospital (not in connection with patient appointment)	42	11%
Family doctor	39	10%
Out-of-hours municipal medical center	34	9%
Out-patient clinic appointment	22	6%
Other hospital	4	1%
Admission in out-of-office hours
Yes	166	43%
No	220	57%
Planned admission
Yes	35	9%
No	351	91%
Main complaint/cause of referral
Fever/infection	69	18%
Dyspnea	67	17%
Pain	64	17%
Neurological	48	12%
General decreased condition	32	8%
Nausea/vomiting	21	5%
Ascites/edema	20	5%
Jaundice	14	4%
Bleeding	15	4%
Invasive catheter/tube problem	11	3%
Diarrhea	6	2%
Obstipation	4	1%
Other^a	15	4%
Main diagnosis/cause of hospitalization
Infection/fever	106	27%
Bronchopulmonary insufficiency	41	11%
Gastrointestinal passage disturbance	39	10%
Pain management	37	10%
Neuropathy or plexopathy	26	7%
Bile obstruction	23	6%
Nutritional or metabolic disorder	20	5%
Bleeding	19	5%
Renal insuffiency/hydronephrosis	14	4%
Ascites	13	3%
Catheter or tube problem	10	3%
Coronary disease/heart failure	8	2%
Ischemic stroke or TIA	8	2%
Venous thromboembolism	6	2%
Other^b	16	4%
Destination when discharged
Nursing home facility	162	42%
Home	122	32%
Death during hospitalization	102	26%

^aIncludes two patients admitted for planned surgery, three with kidney failure (incidental findings), one patient admitted for planned in-patient systematic anticancer treatment administration, one patient with cardiac arrest, one with anuria, one with suspected allergic reaction to chemotherapy administration, three with dysphagia, one with urinary retention, one with anxiety and one for a second opinion cancer assessment
^bIncludes four patients with liver failure, two with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), two with cardiac arrest, two with allergic reaction, one with opioid overdose, one with planned surgical tumor debulking, one with hepatic encephalopathy, one with irritation of the diaphragm due to liver metastasis, one with cardiac rhythm disturbance and one with urinary retention

ISSN: 1472-684X