Early Palliative Care Consultation Research Articles

A narrative review of supportive and end of life care considerations in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a leading cause of cancerrelated deaths, and case numbers continue to rise in the United States. HCC carries a poor prognosis, and management requires a multidisciplinary approach. This narrative review aims to identify opportunities for further integration of palliative care (PC) in HCC care. Given the high symptom burden faced by patients with HCC, early PC consultation can be beneficial for patients. A search of PubMed was conducted from inception of the database to March 1, 2023. The search was composed of keywords and controlled vocabulary terms for concepts related to palliative medicine and symptom management in the setting of HCC. This narrative review finds that although PC has been integrated into HCC guidelines, partnerships between PC and hepatology are still nascent in clinical practice. Treatment-related barriers pose a challenge to timely integration of PC in the care of HCC patients; evaluation or listing for transplantation can be perceived as a barrier to PC consultation, and unpredictable clinical courses make prognostication challenging. Providers may hesitate to pursue PC referral due to a lack of consensus around the role of PC, and for those that are referred, timing of consultation remains an issue especially for those who are potential liver transplant candidates. There are few studies of PC in HCC, limiting evidence-based recommendations that can be made regarding PC involvement in this patient population. While PC is not routinely integrated into HCC care, recent guideline recommendations and a growing number of studies may change this over time. Although further evidence is needed, PC and hepatology teams partnering together can explore ways to improve the care of this patient population. PC consultation early in HCC care could assist in management of symptom relief, psychosocial and spiritual support, and caregiver support. Effective communication will be required to set parameters for referral and clarify potential outcomes of consultation. Teams should be prepared for the challenges involved in a culture change and paradigm shift in clinical practice.

Effects of Early Hospital-Based Palliative Care Consultation on Length of Stay and Costs of Care at Indonesian Tertiary Hospital

Despite the numerous benefits of palliative care for cancer patients, there have been few studies on palliative care services for terminal cancer patients, particularly near the end of life. This study aimed to evaluate whether there were differences in length of stay and cost of care associated with how early or late a patient received palliative care intervention. Another objective was to compare the length of stay and cost of care of those who received palliative care intervention and those who did not. This study used a cohort retrospective design at Hospital A, Jakarta, Indonesia, from January to December 2019. The diagnosis of terminal cancer was based on medical records. Data on length of stay and costs of care were based on medical records and finance billing. The hospitalized terminal cancer patients (392) were recruited by consecutive sampling. The length of stay and costs of care for patients with advanced cancer who received palliative care consultations were longer and higher than for patients who did not receive them. However, if palliative care consultation is provided early, the increase in length of stay and costs are less.

Predicting Limited Survival Following Inguinal Lymph Node Dissection in Penile Cancer: Should We Revisit the Goals of Care?

Patients with advanced penile squamous cell cancer have a poor prognosis and can benefit from early palliative care consultation. We built a model to identify those patients most likely to benefit. Patients with penile squamous cell cancer undergoing inguinal lymph node dissection were identified from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) and a multi-institutional international dataset (INT). A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model for overall survival (OS) was developed using the NCDB and applied to the INT dataset. Parameters were used to make receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. ROC-related criteria were optimized to identify a predictive probability cut point and dichotomize patients from INT into risk groups for limited OS of <6 and <12 months. NCDB had 860 deaths; 105 (5%) at 6 months and 296 (15%) at 12 months. INT had 257 deaths; 56 (8%) at 6 months and 124 (18%) at 12 months. Limited OS was associated with older age, greater T and N stage, and fewer lymph nodes removed. Optimized ROC criteria using the OS <6 months curve best dichotomized INT patients into high-risk group with median OS of 24 months (95% CI 18-34) and low-risk group with median OS of 174 months (95% CI 120-NE). We developed a simple model that could be used as a screening tool for early palliative care referral.

Racial disparities in utilization of palliative care among inpatients admitted for lung cancer.

e24166 Background: Multiple national database-based studies have shown that Black and Hispanic patients are less likely to receive palliative care options at end-of-life (EOL) inpatient care leading to higher costs and poorer quality of life. To the best of our knowledge, there is no reported data specifically considering lung and pleural malignancies. Methods: We analyzed hospitalizations across the United States in 2019 from the National Inpatient Sample dataset, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. We identified adult non-emergent hospitalizations with ‘malignant neoplasm of the lung and bronchus’ (including mesothelioma) listed as the principal reason for hospitalization using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, clinical modification codes C34.0, C34.1, C34.2, C34.3, C34.8, C34.9, and their sub-branches. StataCorp Stata software was used to extract data and compute mortality and palliative care consult utilization among various demographic factors such as sex, age, race, and payer status. Results: Of 67,425 total hospitalizations, 9.4% resulted in mortality. Of these 6338 patients that died, 73.1% were White, 13% Black, 5.8% Hispanic, 3.9% Asians/Pacific Islanders, 0.6% Native Americans, and 3.3% were other races. Palliative care was consulted in 63% of the patients whose admission resulted in death. 64.9% of the White patients, 58.6% of the Black patients, 62.6% of Hispanic patients, 67.7% of Asians/Pacific Islanders, 60% Native Americans, and 59.6% of other races were offered palliative care prior to their death. The average age among the admissions which resulted in death was 69.03 years. Conclusions: While most admissions resulting in mortality were among the White population, there was still a clear discrepancy in the number of Black patients on whom palliative care was consulted. Possible reasons include poor healthcare literacy, physician mistrust, and cultural preferences. Clinicians should consider and suggest early palliative care consultation in the care of Black patients and other minority racial groups to improve the quality of EOL care.

Early Palliative Care Consultation Before High-risk Surgery

Rebecca A. Aslakson, MD; Elizabeth Rickerson, MD; Bridget Fahy, MD; Brittany Waterman, MD; Rachel Siden, MA; Kathryn Colborn, PhD; Shelby Smith, MS; Mae Verano, BA; Isaac Lira, BS; Caroline Hollahan, BS; Amn Siddiqi, MBBS; Kemba Johnson, CCMA; Shivani Chandrashekaran, BS; Elizabeth Harris, BS; Richard Nudotor, MD; Joshua Baker, BS; Shireen N. Heidari, MD; George Poultsides, MD; Alison M. Conca-Cheng, MD; Allyson Cook Chapman, MD; Anna Sophia Lessios, MD; Laura M. Holdsworth, PhD; Jillian Gustin, MD; Aslam Ejaz, MD; Timothy Pawlik, MD; Judi Miller, AIA; Arden M. Morris, MD; James A. Tulsky, MD; Karl Lorenz, MD; Jennifer S. Temel, MD; Thomas J. Smith, MD; Fabian Johnston, MD

Early Versus Late Outpatient Pediatric Palliative Care Consultation and Its Association With End-of-Life Outcomes in Children with Cancer.

Background: There is no consensus on what constitutes "early" pediatric palliative care (PPC) referral within pediatric oncology. Few studies report outcomes based on PPC timing. Objectives: Investigate associations between early (<12 weeks) or late (≥12 weeks from diagnosis) outpatient PPC consultation with demographics, advance care planning (ACP), and end-of-life (EOL) outcomes. Design: Retrospective chart and database review of demographic, disease, visit data, and PPC/EOL outcomes. Setting/Subjects: Deceased pediatric patients with cancer 0-27 years of age seen at an embedded consultative PPC clinic. Measurements: Patient demographics, disease characteristics, PPC/EOL outcomes: timing/receipt of ACP, hospice enrollment, do-not-resuscitate (DNR) documentation, hospital days in last 90 days of life, concordance between actual and preferred location of death, receipt of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at EOL, and death in the intensive care unit. Results: Thirty-two patients received early and 118 received late PPC. Early outpatient PPC was associated with cancer type (p < 0.01). Early PPC (p = 0.04) and ACP documentation (p = 0.04) were associated with documentation of preferred location of death. Early PPC was associated with a preference for home death (p = 0.02). Timing of outpatient PPC was not associated with ACP documentation or other EOL outcomes. In the entire cohort, 73% of PPC patients received hospice, 74% had a DNR order, 87% did not receive CPR at EOL, and 90% died in their preferred location. Conclusions: When using a cutoff of 12 weeks from diagnosis, outpatient PPC timing was only associated with location of death metrics, likely due to high-quality PPC and EOL care among all patients.

Palliative care referral across the disease trajectory in high-grade glioma.

Adults with high-grade glioma (HGG), WHO grade III or IV, have substantial palliative care needs. Our aim was to determine occurrence, timing, and factors associated with palliative care consultation (PCC) in HGG at one large academic institution. HGG patients receiving care between 08/1/2011 and 01/23/2020 were identified retrospectively from a multi-center healthcare system cancer registry. Patients were stratified by any PCC (yes/no), and timing of initial PCC by disease phase: diagnosis (before radiation), during initial treatment (first-line chemotherapy/radiation), second-line treatment(s), or end-of-life (after last chemotherapy). Of 621 HGG patients, 134 (21.58%) received PCC with the vast majority occurring during hospital admission [111 (82.84%)]. Of the 134, 14 (10.45%) were referred during the diagnostic phase; 35 (26.12%) during initial treatment; 20 (14.93%) during second-line treatment; and 65 (48.51%) during end of life. In multivariable logistic regression, only higher Charlson Comorbidity Index was associated with greater odds of PCC [OR 1.3 (95% CI 1.2-1.4), p < 0.01]; but not age or histopathology. Patients who received PCC prior to end of life had longer survival from diagnosis than those referred during end of life [16.5 (8, 24) months vs. 11 (4, 17); p < 0.01]. A minority of HGG patients ever received PCC, which primarily occurred in the inpatient setting, and nearly half during the end-of-life phase. Thus, only about one in ten patients in the entire cohort potentially received the benefits of earlier PCC despite earlier referral having an association with longer survival. Further studies should elucidate barriers and facilitators to early PCC in HGG.

Late to Palliate? Inpatient Palliative Care Consultation at an Academic Veterans Affairs Hospital.

Despite robust evidence describing the benefits of palliative care consultation (PCC), this service is underutilized. Hospital admission provides an important opportunity to obtain PCC. We evaluated all inpatients who received PCC at a Veterans Affairs academic hospital from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019. Logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with early versus late PCC, with early defined as >30 days from consult to death and late defined as ≤30 days. The median time from PCC to death was 37 days. The majority of PCCs were early (58.4%). Of all patients receiving inpatient PCC, 13.2% died that admission. Cardiac (odds ratio = 0.3, 95% CI = 0.11-0.73) and neurological (odds ratio = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.05-0.70) diagnoses were more likely to receive early PCC compared to malignancy. Of the late PCCs receiving first-time consults, 58.9% had at least one admission during the last year. Many patients are introduced to palliative care services within a month of death. These patients were often admitted during the prior year, presenting a missed opportunity to involve inpatient PCC earlier.

Abstract TP108: Early Palliative Care Consultation In Patients With Disabling Stroke

Severe disability and critical illness due to stroke can be burdensome to patients, caregivers, and resource intensive, particularly in the elderly. Management of these patients is multifaceted and includes optimizing quality of life through palliative care (PC). PC in stroke patients can improve comfort while reducing overutilization of resources unlikely to prolong life or contribute meaningful quality. We investigated the impact of early PC involvement in disabled stroke patients, which we defined as NIH Stroke Score ≥ 5 and ICU admission. A screening program was implemented in 2019 at the Loyola University Medical Center for automatic PC consults in disabling stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic) patients over age 70 or who require a ventilator. We hypothesized that early PC consultation via this protocol reduced resource consumption without compromising patient care. This pilot study gathered data prospectively for patients with a positive screen from 2020 to 2021 (“screening”, n=71), and retrospectively for those who met screening criteria in 2017 and 2018 prior to its application (“control”, n=193). Comparing the screening and control groups, there was no significant difference in age (75.9 ± 2.7 vs 72.1 ± 1.1, p&gt;0.1), NIH stroke score (16.6 ± 0.5 vs 17.5 ± 0.9, p=0.2), stroke type (61% vs 69% ischemic, p&gt;0.2), or proportion who expired (22% vs 18%, p=0.4). However, the screening group had more frequent code status change from full to DNR/DNI (42% versus 19%, p&lt;0.01) and more frequent discharges to home (20% vs 8%, p&lt;0.01) when compared to the control. These findings suggest that our samples were similar in stroke severity and screening did not affect mortality. More frequent code status changes with PC screening implies better early identification of patient centered goals of care during admission. Increased discharges to home among these patients may reduce overall long term health care utilization with clear future directives. In conclusion, our pilot study demonstrates that early palliative care involvement in patients with disabling stroke is feasible and expedites establishing goals of care without affecting the quality of care patients receive. We plan to further investigate resource utilization including ICU length of stay and cost.

Timing is everything: Early versus late palliative care consults in trauma.

The incorporation of dedicated palliative care (PC) services in the care of the critically injured trauma patient is not yet universal. Preexisting data demonstrate both economic and clinical value of PC consults, yet patient selection and optimal timing of these consults are poorly defined, possibly leading to underutilization of PC services. Prior studies in geriatric patients have shown benefits of PC when PC clinicians are engaged earlier during hospitalization. We aim to compare hospitalization metrics of early versus late PC consultation in trauma patients. All patients 18 years or older admitted to the trauma service between January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2021, who received a PC consult were included. Patients were assigned to EARLY (PC consult ≤3 days after admission) and LATE (PC consult >3 days after admission) cohorts. Demographics, injury and underlying disease characteristics, outcomes, and financial data were compared. Length of stay (LOS) in the EARLY group is compared with LOS-3 in the LATE group. A total of 154 patient records met the inclusion criteria (60 EARLY and 94 LATE). Injury Severity Score, head Abbreviated Injury Scale score, and medical comorbidities (congestive heart failure, dementia, previous stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, malignancy) were similar between the groups. The LATE group was younger (69.9 vs. 75.3, p = 0.04). Patients in the LATE group had significantly longer LOS (17.5 vs. 7.0 days, p < 0.01) and higher median hospital costs ($53,165 vs. $17,654, p < 0.01). Patients in the EARLY group had reduced ventilator days (2.4 vs. 7.0, p < 0.01) and reduced rates of tracheostomies and surgical feeding tubes (1.7% vs. 11.7%, p = 0.03). Trauma patients with early PC consultation had shorter LOS, reduced ventilator days, reduced rates of invasive procedures, and lower costs even after correcting for delay to consult in the late group. These findings suggest the need for mechanisms leading to earlier PC consult in critically injured patients. Therapeutic/Care Management; Level IV.

Early palliative care consultation offsets hospitalization duration and costs for elderly patients with traumatic brain injuries: Insights from a Level 1 trauma center

We identified factors and outcomes associated with inpatient palliative care (PC) consultation, stratified into early and late timing, for patients over age 65 with traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Patients over age 65 presenting to a single institution with TBI and intracranial hemorrhage from January 2013-September 2020 were included. Patient demographics and various outcomes were analyzed. Inpatient PC consultation was uncommon (4 % out of 576 patients). Characteristics associated with likelihood of consultation were severe TBI (OR = 5.030, 95 % CI 1.096–23.082, p =.038) and pre-existing dementia (OR = 6.577, 95 % CI 1.726–25.073, p =.006). Average consultation timing was 8.6 (standard deviation ± 7.0) days. Patients with PC consults had longer overall (p =.0031) and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stays (LOS) (p <.0001), more days intubated (p <.0001) and higher costs (p =.0006), although those with earlier-than-average PC consultation had shorter overall (p =.0062) and ICU (p =.011) LOS as well as fewer ventilator days (p =.030) and lower costs (p =.0003). Older patients with TBI are more likely to receive PC based on pre-existing dementia and severe TBI. Patients with PC consultations had worse LOS and higher costs. However, these effects were mitigated by earlier PC involvement. Our study emphasizes the need for timely PC consultation in a vulnerable patient population.

Differences in palliative opportunities across diagnosis groups in children with cancer.

Childhood cancer causes significant physical and emotional stress. Patients and families benefit from palliative care (PC) to reduce symptom burden, improve quality of life, and enhance family-centered care. We evaluated palliative opportunities across leukemia/lymphoma (LL), solid tumors (ST), and central nervous system (CNS) tumor groups. A priori, nine palliative opportunities were defined: disease progression/relapse, hematopoietic stem cell transplant, phase 1 trial enrollment, admission for severe symptoms, social concerns or end-of-life (EOL) care, intensive care admission, do-not-resuscitate (DNR) status, and hospice enrollment. A single-center retrospective review was completed on 0-18-year olds with cancer who died from January 1, 2012 to November 30, 2017. Demographic, disease, and treatment data were collected. Descriptive statistics were performed. Opportunities were evaluated from diagnosis to death and across disease groups. Included patients (n=296) had LL (n=87), ST (n=114), or CNS tumors (n=95). Palliative opportunities were more frequent in patients with ST (median 8) and CNS tumors (median 7) versus LL (median 5, p=.0005). While patients with ST had more progression/relapse opportunities (p<.0001), patients with CNS tumors had more EOL opportunities (p<.0001), earlier PC consultation, DNR status, and hospice enrollment. Palliative opportunities increased toward the EOL in all diseases (p<.0001). PC was consulted in 108 (36%) patients: LL (48%), ST (30%), and CNS (34%, p=.02). All children with cancer incur many events warranting PC support. Patients with ST and CNS tumors had more palliative opportunities than LL, yet received less subspecialty PC. Understanding palliative opportunities within each disease group can guide PC utilization to ease patient and family stress.

EOLP-01. PALLIATIVE CARE REFERRAL ACROSS THE DISEASE TRAJECTORY IN HIGH-GRADE GLIOMA

Abstract BACKGROUND Patients with high-grade glioma (HGG), WHO grade 3 or 4, have substantial palliative care needs. As evidence suggests early palliative care consultation (PCC) yields improved quality of life in advanced cancer, our aim was to determine the occurrence, timing, and factors associated with PCC in HGG. METHODS Adults with HGG diagnosed between 8/3/2011 and 1/23/2020 were identified retrospectively from a large, academic, multi-center health system cancer registry. Patients were stratified by any prior PCC (yes/no), and timing of PCC by disease phase: (1) diagnosis (before radiation), (2) initial treatment (first-line chemotherapy/radiation), (3) second-line treatment (second-line to last chemotherapy), and (4) end-of-life (after last chemotherapy). Univariate analyses (e.g., Chi-square test) were conducted to compare PCC to non-PCC groups, based on data distribution. RESULTS Of 621 HGG patients, 134 (21.58%) received PCC, with 14 (10.45%) referred during phase 1; 35 (26.12%) in phase 2; 20 (14.93%) in phase 3; and 65 (48.51%) in phase 4 with a median of 74 days (IQR 15, 277) from initial PCC to death. The majority of referrals were inpatient (111 (82.84%)). The PCC group did not differ significantly from non-PCC in age, sex, language, race, or ethnicity, but did differ by marital status: single (263 (42.35%) vs 187 (38.4%)), divorced/separated (37 (27.61%) vs 107 (21.97%)), married/civil union (17 (12.69%) vs 154 (31.62%)); (Chi-square p &amp;lt; .01). Compared to non-PCC, more patients in the PCC group had glioblastoma histopathology (89.55% vs. 82.14%, p = .04). CONCLUSION A minority of HGG patients ever received PCC, which primarily occurred in the inpatient setting, and half of those referred for PCC received it during the end-of-life phase. Thus, only about one in 10 patients in the entire cohort potentially received the benefits of early PCC. Further studies should elucidate barriers and facilitators to early palliative care in HGG.

The value of compassion: Healthcare savings of palliative care consults in trauma

BackgroundThe effects of palliative care (PC) consultation on patient costs and hospitalization metrics in the adult trauma population are unclear. Study DesignWe interrogated our Level I trauma center databases from 1/1/19 to 3/31/21 for patients age ≥18 admitted to the trauma service. Patients undergoing PC consult were matched using propensity scoring to those without PC consultation based on age, admission Glasgow Coma Scale score, Injury Severity Score and Head Abbreviated Injury Scale. Total costs, total cost per day, hospital length of stay (LOS), ICU LOS, intubation days, discharge disposition, and rates of nephrology consultation and tracheostomy/feeding tube placements were compared. Results140 unique patients underwent PC consultation and were matched to a group not receiving PC consult during the same period. Median total costs in the PC cohort were $39,532 compared to $70,330 in the controls (p<0.01). Median costs per day in the PC cohort were $3,495 vs $17,970 in the controls (p<0.01). Median costs per ICU day in the PC cohort were $3,774 vs $17,127 in the controls (p<0.01). Mean hospital LOS (15.7 vs 7 days), ICU LOS (7.9 vs 2.9 days), and ventilator days (5.1 vs 1.5) were significantly higher in the PC cohort (all p<0.01). Rates of nephrology consultation (8.6 vs 2.1%, p = 0.03) and tracheostomy/feeding tube placements (12.1 vs 1.4%, p<0.01) were also higher in the PC group. Patients were more likely to discharge to hospice if they received a PC consult (33.6 vs 2.1%, p<0.01). Mean time to PC consult was 7.2 days (range 1 hour to 45 days). LOS post-consult correlated positively with time to PC consultation (r = 0.27, p<0.01). ConclusionExpert PC services are known to alleviate suffering and avert patient goal- and value-incongruent care. While trauma patients demand significant resources, PC consultation offered in concordance with life-sustaining interventions is associated with significant savings to patients and the healthcare system. Given the correlation between LOS following PC consult and time to PC consult, savings may be amplified by earlier PC consultation in appropriate patients.

EFFECT ON LENGTH OF STAY AND MORTALITY AFTER INITIATION OF EARLY PALLIATIVE CARE CONSULTATION IN A COMMUNITY HOSPITAL ICU: A QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

EFFECT ON LENGTH OF STAY AND MORTALITY AFTER INITIATION OF EARLY PALLIATIVE CARE CONSULTATION IN A COMMUNITY HOSPITAL ICU: A QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

EP10.01-008 Examining Social Determinants of Health Among Newly Diagnosed Lung Cancer Patients Contacted for Early Specialist Palliative Care Consultation

Timely palliative care interventions can help to alleviate the distress people experience after diagnosis of an incurable, life-threatening cancer. However, referrals to palliative care are often late and inequities have been described across sociodemographic groups. The Palliative Care Early and Systematic (PaCES)-Automatic study was co-designed with patients and providers. It provides an automatic early palliative care intervention triggered by pre-determined clinical criteria, without the need for formal clinician referral, for automatically offering an early supportive and palliative care (SPC) consultation to all patients newly diagnosed with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Early Versus Usual Palliative Care Consultation in the Intensive Care Unit.

Palliative Medicine involvement in MICU patients have improved length of stay and mortality, but with varying effects on specific patient decision outcomes, such as, advance care planning. These studies have utilized Palliative Medicine later in the hospital or ICU course, with some evidence showing that earlier involvement resulted in better results. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefits of early (within 24hours) palliative care consultation in medical ICU (MICU) patients to clinical and satisfaction outcomes. An unblinded randomized study performed in the MICU in one academic hospital in the USA. Ninety-one adult patients admitted to MICU received a Palliative care medicine consultation within 24hours as the intervention. Ninety-one patients admitted to the MICU underwent randomization with 50 patients randomly assigned to receive Palliative Medicine consultation and 41 patients randomly assigned to receive standard-of-care based on predefined criteria. The median satisfaction score was 23 points higher for the patients in the intervention group (P < .001). The median length of MICU stay was 5 days shorter in the intervention group compared to the control group (95% CI; 1 day to 18days, P = .018). Advance care planning was completed in the hospital for 34% of patients in the intervention arm and 12% of patients in the controls arm (absolute risk difference 22%, 95% CI 4% to 37%, P = .016). Early Palliative Medicine consultation within 24hours of MICU admission showed significant benefits to patients by improving satisfaction and decreasing length of stay. This study provides evidence that Palliative Medicine involvement earlier in the course of severe disease is important. Further studies in other types of intensive care units (neurological and Cardiovascular) are necessary to determine their impact.

Collaborative Integration of Palliative Care in Critically Ill Stroke Patients in the Neurocritical Care Unit: A Single Center Pilot Study

Patients admitted to the Neurocritical Care Unit (NCCU) with moderate-to-severe acute strokes, along with their surrogate decision makers, have the potential for unrecognized or unmet emotional and psychological needs. Our primary objective was to determine if early integration of palliative care consultations within this cohort was feasible and would impact understanding, decision-making and emotional support to patients and their surrogate decision makers. Our secondary objective was to evaluate the long-term impact of early palliative care assessment on the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This was a single center prospective pilot study. Patients with moderate-to-severe ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes were randomized into two arms. The control arm received standard intensive care and the intervention arm received an additional early palliative care consultation within 72 hours of hospitalization. Study assessments with the participants were obtained on day 1-3, and day 5-7 of care with comparisons of total scores on the Questionnaire on Communication (QOC), Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Furthermore, comparisons of HADS and PTSD DSM-5 (PCL- 5) scores were completed at 3 months. Linear mixed effects models were conducted to examine the association between intervention and participant's scores. A total of 22 participants were enrolled between February 2019 and April 2020. Statistically significant improvement in scores was seen in the total HADS score (p=0.043) and PCL5 score (p=0.033) at 3 months following intervention. Collaboration between the intensive care and palliative care team with early palliative assessment may be beneficial in lowering anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms in critically ill stroke patients and their caregivers. Further research is needed to validate these findings.

Impact of Palliative Care on Interhospital Transfers to the Intensive Care Unit.

Community hospitals will often transfer their most complex, critically ill patients to intensive care units (ICUs) of tertiary care centers for specialized, comprehensive care. This population of patients has high rates of morbidity and mortality. Palliative care involvement in critically ill patients has been demonstrated to reduce over-utilization of resources and hospital length of stays. We hypothesized that transfers from community hospitals had low rates of palliative care involvement and high utilization of ICU resources. In this single-center retrospective cohort study, 848 patients transferred from local community hospitals to the medical ICU (MICU) and cardiac care unit (CCU) at a tertiary care center between 2016-2018 were analyzed for patient disposition, length of stay, hospitalization cost, and time to palliative care consultation. Of the 848 patients, 484 (57.1%) expired, with 117 (13.8%) having expired within 48 hours of transfer. Palliative care consult was placed for 201 (23.7%) patients. Patients with palliative care consult were statistically more likely to be referred to hospice (p<0.001). Over two-thirds of palliative care consults were placed later than 5 days after transfer. Time to palliative care consult was positively correlated with length of hospitalization among MICU patients (r=0.79) and CCU patients (r=0.90). Time to palliative consult was also positively correlated with hospitalization cost among MICU patients (r=0.75) and CCU patients (r=0.86). These results indicate early palliative care consultation in this population may result in timely goals of care discussions and optimization of resources.

Utilizing Standardized Criteria for Early Palliative Care Consultation in Geriatric Inpatients with Newly Diagnosed Acute Leukemia

Utilizing Standardized Criteria for Early Palliative Care Consultation in Geriatric Inpatients with Newly Diagnosed Acute Leukemia