Effect of inpatient palliative care on supportive care measures in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT).

Abstract

70 Background: Inpatient palliative care integrated with transplant care has been shown to improve patient-reported quality of life (QOL), symptom burden, and psychological distress during hospitalization for HCT. However, the impact of palliative care on supportive care practices during HSCT remains unknown. Methods: This secondary analysis is based on a single-site randomized clinical trial of 160 patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing HSCT between 8/2014 and 1/2016. Participants received either inpatient palliative care integrated with transplant care (n = 81) or transplant care alone (n = 79). We used the electronic health record to obtain data on supportive care measures during HSCT including the use of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), intravenous pain medications, atypical antipsychotics (used to treat nausea/anxiety), psychostimulants, antidepressants, hypnotics, and the use of standing orders (as opposed to as needed ‘PRN’) for supportive care medications. We compared the proportion of subjects in each group receiving these supportive care measures using Fisher’s exact test. Results: Patients randomized to the palliative care intervention were more likely to use PCA (32.1% vs. 15.19%, P = 0.015), and atypical antipsychotics (35.8% vs. 17.7%, P = 0.012) compared to those receiving transplant care alone. Intervention participants were also more likely to have standing orders for their supportive care medications (74.1% vs. 56.9%, P = 0.030) compared to those receiving transplant care alone. Study groups did not differ in the of intravenous pain medications, psychostimulants, antidepressants, or hypnotics. Conclusions: Patients receiving inpatient integrated palliative and transplant care were more likely to utilize PCA and atypical antipsychotics during HCT compared to those receiving transplant care alone. Future work should examine whether these differences in supportive care practices mediate the effect of the palliative care intervention on patient-reported outcomes. Clinical trial information: NCT02207322.