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This paper seeks to explore the current state of paediatric palliative care in Aotearoa New Zealand. The low priority afforded to paediatric palliative care for more than two decades has had a significant impact on service provision, education and research within this specialty. As a result, provision of specialist paediatric palliative care to children with serious illness and their whānau (family, including extended family) is inequitable and vastly inadequate. This paper considers the consequences of having limited access to specialist palliative care for children and whānau, and outlines what is required for both service development and current priorities for research., Competing Interests: Nil., (© PMA.)

The new-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE)/febrile infection-related epilepsy syndrome (FIRES) Family Registry contributes to a systematic effort to collect clinical and epidemiological information on individuals affected by NORSE/FIRES. We explore diagnostic and prognostic information provided to patients and their families, their satisfaction with the communication, and utilisation of palliative care services during acute hospitalization. Communication about the diagnosis of NORSE/FIRES to families has improved since the publication of consensus definitions in 2018, with families being more likely to be told about NORSE/FIRES after 2018. Families rate the quality of prognostic information as being moderate. Palliative care services were involved in a minority of patients. Understanding and characterizing the prevalence and satisfaction of diagnostic and prognostic conversations is important for improving overall care, the quality of physician-patient-family relationships, and the recovery process for those affected by NORSE/FIRES., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Management of severe (drug-resistant) epilepsy and epilepsy in other serious illnesses is multidimensional and requires consideration of both physical symptoms and psychosocial distress that require individualized treatment. Palliative care offers a holistic approach to disease that focuses on all dimensions of suffering to maintain quality of life. Integration of a palliative care mind- and skillset in the management of severe epilepsy and epilepsy in other serious illnesses can provide person-centered care and support for families and caregivers., Competing Interests: A.-C.W. is a member of the “International Neuropalliative Society” (INPCS), the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurologie” (DGN), “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Palliativmedizin” (DGP), and “Klinische DGN-Kommission für neurologische Palliativmedizin.” A.-C.W. received a research grant from DGfE. A.B.K. is the chair of the reference group neurology & palliative care of the European Association for Palliative Care, and a member of the INPCS, DGN, and DGfE., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Background: The number of people with palliative care needs is projected to increase globally. Chile has recently introduced legislation for universal access to palliative care services for patients with severe and terminal illnesses, including non-cancer conditions. We aimed to estimate the number of people affected by serious health-related suffering and need for palliative care in Chile to 2050., Methods: We used data on all deaths registered in Chile between 1997-2019 and population estimates for 1997-2050. We used Poisson regression to model past trends in causes of death adjusted by age, sex and population estimates, to project the number of deaths for each cause from 2021 to 2050. We applied the Lancet Commission on Palliative Care and Pain Relief weights to these projections to identify decedents and non-decedents with palliative care needs., Results: Population palliative care needs in Chile are projected to increase from 117 (95% CI 114 to 120) thousand people in 2021 to 209 (95% CI 198 to 223) thousand people in 2050, a 79% increase (IRR 1.79; 95% CI 1.78-1.80). This increase will be driven by non-cancer conditions, particularly dementia (IRR 2.9, 95% CI 2.85-2.95) and cardiovascular conditions (IRR 1.86, 95% CI 1.83-1.89). By 2050, 50% of those estimated to need palliative care will be non-decedents (not expected to die within a year)., Conclusions: Chile will experience a large increase in palliative care needs, particularly for people with dementia and other non-cancer conditions. Improved availability of high-quality services, expanded clinician training and new sustainable models of care are urgently required to ensure universal access to palliative care., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: To assess trends and rural-urban disparities in palliative care utilization among patients with metastatic breast cancer., Methods: We analyzed data from the 2004-2019 National Cancer Database. Palliative care services, including surgery, radiotherapy, systemic therapy, and/or other pain management, were provided to control pain or alleviate symptoms; utilization was dichotomized as "yes/no." Rural-urban residence, defined by the US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service's Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, was categorized as "rural/urban/metropolitan." Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine rural-urban differences in palliative care use. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated., Findings: Of 133,500 patients (mean age 62.4 [SD = 14.2] years), 86.7%, 11.7%, and 1.6% resided in metropolitan, urban, and rural areas, respectively; 72.5% were White, 17.0% Black, 5.8% Hispanic, and 2.7% Asian. Overall, 20.3% used palliative care, with a significant increase from 15.6% in 2004-2005 to 24.5% in 2008-2019 (7.0% increase per year; p-value for trend <0.001). In urban areas, 23.3% received palliative care, compared to 21.0% in rural and 19.9% in metropolitan areas (p < 0.001). After covariate adjustment, patients residing in rural (AOR = 0.84; 95% CI: 0.73-0.98) or metropolitan (AOR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.80-0.89) areas had lower odds of having used palliative care than those in urban areas., Conclusions: In this national, racially diverse sample of patients with metastatic breast cancer, the utilization of palliative care services increased over time, though remained suboptimal. Further, our findings highlight rural-urban disparities in palliative care use and suggest the potential need to promote these services while addressing geographic access inequities for this patient population., (© 2024 The Authors. The Journal of Rural Health published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of National Rural Health Association.)

Context: Critically ill patients have important palliative care (PC) needs in the intensive care unit (ICU), but specialty PC is often underutilized.Objective: To evaluate changes in utilization and reasons for PC consultation over time.Methods: Data from a national multi-site network of inpatient PC visits were used to identify patients age ≥18 years admitted to an ICU between 2013 and 2019. Year of ICU admission was the exposure. Primary diagnosis and reason for referral were identified by standardized process measures within the dataset at the time of referral. Trends in primary diagnosis and reason for referral were modeled as a function of year of ICU admission.Results: Across 39,515 ICU patients seen by a PC team, overall numbers of consultations from the ICU increased each year. Referrals for patients with cancer decreased from 17.6% (95% CI 13.7%-21.5%) to 14.3% (95% CI 13.2%-14.7%) and for patients with cardiovascular disease increased from 16.8% in (95% CI 16.8%-16.9%) to 18.8% (95% CI 18.8%-18.9%). Reasons for referrals were primarily for goals of care and advance care planning and increased from 74.0% (95% CI 70.0%-78.0%) in 2013 to 80.0% (95% CI 79.4%-80.0%) in 2019 (P < 0.0001 for all trends).Conclusion: PC referrals in ICU patients with cancer are decreasing, while those for cardiovascular disease are increasing. Reasons for referrals in the ICU are commonly for goals of care; other reasons, like pain control are uncommon. Early goals of care conversations and further training in advance care planning should be emphasized in the ICU setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based palliative care (CBPC) models address the growing needs of patients and caregivers with chronic and serious illnesses. From pediatrics to geriatrics, individuals prefer to receive care within their local community and at home. Delivering care at the community level and within the home improves health outcomes, reduces disparities, and supports local economic activity. Various models of CBPC have developed through partnerships with existing services, such as home health agencies, but ongoing challenges and barriers exist for further expansion of specialty palliative care. Advanced practice registered nurses increasingly manage chronic and serious illnesses and are essential for all health care teams, particularly for CBPC. As trusted providers within the community, advanced practice registered nurses create lasting relationships that allow for meaningful exchanges with patients and caregivers. This article reviewed the concept and features of CBPC offered within the United States and describes an advanced practice registered nurse-led embedded palliative care program for advanced lung disease., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 by The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. All rights reserved.)

Background: A recent Lancet commission called for more research on palliative care in low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries such as Colombia. A research priority setting approach has been recommended by The Global Forum for Health Research to address the huge gap in research output between LMIC and high-income countries, with influential health service bodies recommending the active involvement of non-research expert stakeholders in establishing research priorities to address service user needs., Method: Priority setting partnership (PSP) following the four stages of the James Lind Alliance methodology; establishing the partnership, identifying evidence uncertainties, refining questions and uncertainties, and prioritization. Data from MS forms were analysed using descriptive statistics., Results: A total of 33 stakeholders attended an online PSP workshop and completed the Mentimeter exercise in Microsoft Teams. A total of 48 attended the subsequent in person prioritisation exercise in urban Bogota (n = 22) and rural Popayan (n = 25). The stakeholders were a diverse group of health professionals (physicians, medical students, nurses, dentists, physiotherapists, nutritionist, occupational and speech therapists), financial and administrative staff and patients with life-limiting illness and caregivers. Top research priorities included patient and caregiver needs, service provider education and training, and better integration of palliative care with cancer and non-cancer services. The key challenges included a lack of interest in palliative care research, along with funding, time and resource constraints. Key solutions included collaboration across disciplines and settings, highlighting benefits of palliative research to help secure adequate resources, and multicentre, mixed method research, with patient involvement from the research development stage., Conclusion: The findings of this PSP should be disseminated among palliative care associations worldwide to inform international multicentre studies, and among governmental and nongovernmental organisations that promote research in Colombia. A focus on patient and family caregiver palliative care needs in Colombia should be prioritised., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The demand for palliative care is increasing globally, yet a notable lack of awareness continues to present a significant obstacle to its widespread adoption. The use of digital tools like Google Trends can help gauging public interest in specific topics. We used Google Trends to conduct a systematic search of terms related to palliative care from January 1, 2010, to May 10, 2023. The results were filtered by location, including worldwide and Latin American countries. We found a global increase in searches for terms related to palliative care, with a peak in December 2022 associated with the death of Brazilian footballer Pelé. Countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia mirrored this trend, while others like Argentina and Peru did not. Interest in palliative care is on the rise in Latin America, albeit with notable regional variations., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Miranda-Chavez et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Context: Palliative care (PC) in most African countries remains under-assessed. Benin has piloted the implementation of a set of indicators proposed by the WHO to measure PC development., Objectives: To examine the current status of PC in Benin., Methods: A workshop with stakeholders was organized to assess the WHO indicators in the Beninese context. Indicators were rated based on relevance and feasibility, data sources were agreed upon, and a survey was adapted. Data were collected between March and May 2023., Results: There is emerging community involvement in PC through the presence of patients' rights promoters, as well as a political commitment expressed in the National PC strategy, the inclusion of PC services in the list of basic health services, and an assigned national authority -within the Ministry of Health-responsible for PC. Although no PC-oriented research has been documented, the celebration of the National PC Conference represents the first step to ground PC delivery in evidence. The reported annual consumption of opioids is 0.18 (ME) milligrams per capita, 34% of healthcare establishments have essential medicines for pain and PC, and 16.5% of patients with palliative needs have access to oral morphine. To date, no medical or paramedical schools offer PC training, and there is no official specialization in palliative medicine for doctors. PC is provided by 11 specialist teams (0.08/100,000 inhabitants), none of which provides pediatric care., Conclusion: Despite growing political, professional, and community commitments to palliative care, there are challenges in education, research, essential medicines, and access to PC services., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Palliative care improves cancer patients' quality of life. Limited research has investigated racial/ethnic disparities in palliative care utilization and its associated survival among metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. Objectives: To examine racial/ethnic palliative care use disparities and assess racial/ethnic overall survival differences in MBC patients stratified by palliative care use. Design: A retrospective study of MBC patients from the 2004-2020 National Cancer Database. Measurements: Palliative care was defined as noncurative cancer treatment, including surgery, radiotherapy, systemic therapy, and/or pain management; utilization was coded "yes/no." Racial/ethnic groups included Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN), Black, Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (HPI), Hispanic, and White. Logistic regression was performed to assess palliative care use disparities. Overall survival was modeled using Cox regression. Results: Of 148,931 patients, the mean age was 62 years; 99% were female; 73% identified as White, 17% as Black, 6% as Hispanic, 3% as Asian, 0.3% as AIAN, and 0.3% as HPI; 42% and 39% had Medicare and private insurance, respectively. Overall, 21% used palliative care, with an increasing utilization rate from 2004 to 2020 (3.6% increase per year, p -trend <0.001). Black (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.84 to 0.94), Asian (aOR = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.68 to 0.86), and Hispanic (aOR = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.62 to 0.74) patients had a lower likelihood of palliative care utilization than White patients. Among palliative care users, compared with White patients, Black (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.21) patients had a greater mortality risk, while Asian (aHR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.71 to 0.97) and Hispanic (aHR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.69 to 0.87) patients had a lower mortality risk. Conclusions: Palliative care utilization among MBC patients significantly increased but remained suboptimal. Racial/ethnic minority patients were less likely to use palliative care, and Black patients had worse survival, than White patients, suggesting the need for improving palliative care access and ameliorating disparities in MBC patients.

Organ, tissue, and eye donations provide opportunities to leave a legacy by saving and/or enhancing the quality of life of others. There has been little published related to tissue or eye donation in hospice/palliative care and few initiatives to facilitate donation among hospice patients/families. Donation myths, gaps in knowledge, and, most significantly, lack of donation referral processes result in missed opportunities for patient/families to consider donation. One donor has the potential to impact 75 lives or more through tissue donation and 2 lives through eye donation. Hospice/palliative care providers can play key roles related to education, advocacy, and collaboration. The support of hospice/palliative care organizations and the local Organ Procurement Organization/Tissue and Eye Recovery Agency are essential for facilitating donation opportunities. This article summarizes current literature, examines legislation and regulations related to donation, presents a case that illustrates an opportunity for hospice community based donation, and shares practices that support donation in hospice/palliative care organizations together with the local Organ Procurement Organization/Tissue and Eye Recovery Agency. This article will hopefully provide the impetus for further study and the development of practices to optimize donation in hospice/palliative care, thus providing more patients and families the opportunity to turn loss into legacy., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 by The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. All rights reserved.)

Background: To strengthen palliative care for children in the Nordic countries, an updated status of current needs, resources, clinical services, education, and research is necessary to align and consolidate future research. A Nordic research collaboration initiative for children with palliative care needs was assembled in 2023. Building on this initiative, this paper presents an overview of pediatric palliative care (PPC) in the Nordic countries' (a) population characteristics, (b) care models and setting of care, (c) education and training, and (d) research., Methods: The Nordic initiative researchers collaboratively gathered and assessed available data on the characteristics of PPC within Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Sweden, and Åland. Data were compiled in a matrix with population characteristics, models- and setting of care, education and training, and areas of research in a Nordic context. The findings are narratively and descriptively presented, providing an overview of Nordic PPC., Results: In total, the Nordic child population comprises around six million children (0-19 years), of which about 41.200 are estimated to be living with a life-limiting and/or life-threatening condition. Healthcare services are provided through various care models, ranging from specialized care to homecare settings. Overall, there remain few opportunities for education and training with some exceptions. Also, Nordic research within PPC has been shown to be a growing field although much remains to be done., Conclusion: This overview is the first outline of the current PPC in Nordic countries. Although some differences remain important to acknowledge, overall, the strengths and challenges faced within PPC in the Nordic countries are comparable and call for joint action to increase evidence, services, and education to better serve the children, families, and healthcare personnel within PPC. Despite the varying structural premises for PPC, research endeavors aiming to provide evidence in this field seem increasing, timely and relevant for the Nordic countries, as well as the international context., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: Aim: To determine the limits of refinement of the forecast of the need for palliative and hospice care (PHC) among adults and children, made by the methods of linear, logarithmic and exponential trends, using the improved forecasting method., Patients and Methods: Materials and Methods: Based on the calculated demand for 2018-2020, a demand forecast was made using the linear trend method for 2021 and 2022, which was verified by comparing it with the calculation based on available statistical data for 2022. To improve the forecasting result, the creeping trend method with a smoothing segment was used., Results: Results: The estimated need for PHC by the linear trend method for 2022 was 87,254 adults and 46,122 children. The predicted need for this year by the linear trend method was 172,303 for adults and 45,517 for children. The prediction using the sliding trend method with segment smoothing was found to be 4.7 times more accurate and reliable for adults and all age groups combined, but was less accurate and not reliable for children. It was found out that in order to achieve a reliable forecast, it is necessary to clarify the data of medical statistics regarding of malignant neoplasms and congenital malformations, as well as demographic statistics., Conclusion: Conclusions: The method of a creeping trend gave more accurate results and made it possible to determine the reliability of the forecast, allowed to take into account the simultaneous influence of various input parameters.

To demonstrate the trends and variety of research on palliative care during the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic search of the Web of Science database. Since the outbroke of the COVID-19 pandemic, the adjustment of palliative care systems is warranted to maintain a high quality of care. The COVID-19 -related palliative care studies account for approximately 4% of all publications on palliative care. However, there is a dearth of research investigating the nature of these studies. A total of 293 studies were included. Of the included studies, those related to system improvement were the most common (181/293, 61.8%), followed by those related to patient care (79/293, 27.0%), bereavement support for patients or family members (19/293, 6.5%), and the mental health of frontline practitioners (14/293, 4.8%). From these studies, 82, 137, and 74 studies were published in 2020, 2021, and 2022 (until August 1), respectively. The research trends of palliative care demonstrate the flexibility and rapid response of the global palliative care system to the COVID-19 pandemic and show how the palliative care system is evolving. While most studies are interested in system improvement, patient care, and bereavement support, the mental health of frontline practitioners has received less attention. Our findings provide palliative care practitioners with current valuable information and highlight possible future trends., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background and Objectives: AKI is a common complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is associated with high mortality. Palliative care, a specialty that supports patients with serious illness, is valuable for these patients but is historically underutilized in AKI. The objectives of this paper are to describe the use of palliative care in patients with AKI and COVID-19 and their subsequent health care utilization., Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We conducted a retrospective analysis of New York University Langone Health electronic health data of COVID-19 hospitalizations between March 2, 2020 and August 25, 2020. Regression models were used to examine characteristics associated with receiving a palliative care consult., Results: Among patients with COVID-19 ( n =4276; 40%), those with AKI ( n =1310; 31%) were more likely than those without AKI ( n =2966; 69%) to receive palliative care (AKI without KRT: adjusted odds ratio, 1.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.40 to 2.33; P <0.001; AKI with KRT: adjusted odds ratio, 2.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.52 to 3.97; P <0.001), even after controlling for markers of critical illness (admission to intensive care units, mechanical ventilation, or modified sequential organ failure assessment score); however, consults came significantly later (10 days from admission versus 5 days; P <0.001). Similarly, 66% of patients initiated on KRT received palliative care versus 37% ( P <0.001) of those with AKI not receiving KRT, and timing was also later (12 days from admission versus 9 days; P =0.002). Despite greater use of palliative care, patients with AKI had a significantly longer length of stay, more intensive care unit admissions, and more use of mechanical ventilation. Those with AKI did have a higher frequency of discharges to inpatient hospice (6% versus 3%) and change in code status (34% versus 7%) than those without AKI., Conclusions: Palliative care was utilized more frequently for patients with AKI and COVID-19 than historically reported in AKI. Despite high mortality, consultation occurred late in the hospital course and was not associated with reduced initiation of life-sustaining interventions., Podcast: This article contains a podcast at https://www.asn-online.org/media/podcast/CJASN/2022&#95;02&#95;24&#95;CJN11030821.mp3., (Copyright © 2022 by the American Society of Nephrology.)

Background: Advanced peripheral arterial disease is associated with an overall annual mortality between 20-40%. Amputees are at particularly high risk for perioperative and long-term mortality and may benefit from palliative care programs to improve quality of life and to align medical treatments with their goals of care. As studies of palliative care in vascular patients are scarce, we sought to examine palliative care utilization using below knee amputation (BKA) as a surrogate for advanced peripheral arterial disease., Methods: All patients who underwent below knee amputation over a 5-year period at a single large academic medical center were identified through chart review. Demographics, preoperative conditions, intraoperative factors, and perioperative outcomes were recorded. The primary outcome was palliative care consultation at the time of the amputation. The secondary outcomes included one-year mortality and palliative care consultation prior to death., Results: The cohort comprised 111 patients (76 men, 35 women) who received BKA for chronic limb threatening ischemia. Three patients (2.7%) received palliative care consultations at the time of their amputation. Of these, one had been obtained remotely for an oncologic condition and the others for surgical decision-making. Follow-up was available for 73 patients. One-year mortality was 21.9% (n = 16) at a mean of 102 ± 86 days after BKA. Among patients who died within 1 year of their amputation, 37.5% (n = 6) received palliative care consultations prior to their death. The median interval between amputation and palliative consultation was 26 (IQR 14-81) days. The median interval between palliative consultation and death was 9 (IQR 4-39) days., Conclusion: Palliative care services were rarely provided to patients with advanced peripheral arterial disease. When obtained, consultations occurred closer to death than to amputation suggesting a missed opportunity to receive the benefits of early evaluation. Future studies can be aimed at identifying a cohort of vascular patients who would most benefit from early palliative evaluation and determining if palliative consultations alter health care utilization patterns and outcomes for vascular patients., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objectives Stroke and post-stroke complications are associated with high morbidity, mortality, and cost. Our objective was to examine healthcare utilization and hospice enrollment for stroke patients at the end of life. Materials and methods The 2014 Nationwide Readmissions Database is a national database of > 14 million admissions. We used validated ICD-9 codes to identify fatal ischemic stroke, summarized demographics and hospitalization characteristics, and examined healthcare use within 30 days before fatal stroke admission. We used de-identified 2014 Medicare hospice data to identify stroke and non-stroke patients admitted to hospice. Results Among IS admissions in 2014 (n = 472,969), 22652 (4.8%) had in-hospital death. 28.2% with fatal IS had two or more hospitalizations in 2014. Among those with fatal IS admission, 13.0% were admitted with cerebrovascular disease within 30 days of fatal IS admission. Half of stroke patients discharged to hospice from the Medicare dataset were hospitalized with cerebrovascular disease within the thirty days prior to hospice enrollment. Within the study year, 6.9% of hospice enrollees had one or more emergency room visits, 31.7% had one or more inpatient encounters, and 5.2% had one or more nursing facility encounters (compared to 21.4%, 70.6%, and 27.2% respectively in the 30-day period prior to enrollment). Conclusions High rates of readmission prior to fatal stroke may indicate opportunity for improvement in acute stroke management, secondary prevention, and palliative care involvement as encouraged by AHA/ASA guidelines. For patients who are expected to survive 6 months or less, hospice may offer goal-concordant services for patients and caregivers who desire comfort-focused care., Competing Interests: Declarations of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In order to investigate controversies surrounding the desire to die phenomenon in palliative care by analyzing expert opinions on the topic, we carried out a secondary qualitative data analysis of free text comments collected during a Delphi survey that was designed to develop a conversation aid for dealing with desire to die in everyday clinical practice. Between 01/2018 and 03/2018, a two-round Delphi survey was carried out with national (German) and international palliative care experts. Free text comments were reinvestigated to identify controversies surrounding the desire to die phenomenon. An additional in-depth analysis focused on statements expressing attitudes towards proactively addressing (potential) desires to die. Within the Delphi survey, 103 of 149 multi-professional participants (almost all of them with practical and only six with exclusively theoretical expertise in palliative care) generated 444 free text comments. Thereof, we identified three main categories related to dealing with desire to die: "outer framework", "extended care system" and "health-professional-patient-relationship". Ambivalences, taboos and uncertainties surrounding desire to die in palliative care became apparent. Experts are divided concerning the practice of proactively addressing desire to die. Even if these conversations-especially the proactive approach-are also viewed critically, we conclude that open-ended and respectful communication about desire to die between health professionals and patients can be understood as an eligible intervention in palliative care. Proactively addressing the topic is a possible way to open up such conversations., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Gastric cancer treatments are rapidly evolving, leading to significant survival benefit. Recent evidence provided by clinical trials strongly encouraged the use of perioperative chemotherapy as standard treatment for the localized disease, whereas in the advanced disease setting, molecular characterization has improved patients' selection for tailored therapeutic approaches, including molecular targeted therapy and immunotherapy. The role of nutritional therapy is widely recognized, with oncologic treatment's tolerance and response being better in well-nourished patients. In this review, literature data on strategies or nutritional interventions will be critically examined, with particular regard to different treatment phases (perioperative, metastatic, and palliative settings), with the aim to draw practical indications for an adequate nutritional support of gastric cancer patients and provide an insight on future directions in nutritional strategies. We extensively analyzed the last 10 years of literature, in order to provide evidence that may fit current clinical practice both in terms of nutritional interventions and oncological treatment. Overall, 137 works were selected: 34 Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs), 12 meta-analysis, 9 reviews, and the most relevant prospective, retrospective and cross-sectional studies in this setting. Eleven ongoing trials have been selected from clinicaltrial.gov as representative of current research. One limitation of our work lies in the heterogeneity of the described studies, in terms of sample size, study procedures, and both nutritional and clinical outcomes. Indeed, to date, there are no specific evidence-based guidelines in this fields, therefore we proposed a clinical algorithm with the aim to indicate an appropriate nutritional strategy for gastric cancer patients.

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic is posing major challenges for health care systems. In Germany, one such challenge has been that adequate palliative care for the severely ill and dying (with and without COVID-19), as well as their loved ones, has not been available at all times and in all settings., the pandemic has underlined the significance of the contribution of general practitioners (GPs) to the care of severely ill and dying patients., Objectives: To describe GPs' experiences, challenges and perspectives with respect to end-of-life care during the first peak of the pandemic (spring 2020) in Germany., Materials and Methods: In November and December 2020, a link to an Unipark online survey was sent to GPs registered on nationwide distribution lists., Results: In total, 410 GPs responded; 61.5% indicated that the quality of their patients' end-of-life care was maintained throughout the pandemic, 36.8% reported a decrease in quality compared to pre-pandemic times. Of the GPs who made home visits to severely ill and dying patients, 61.4% reported a stable number of visits, 28.5% reported fewer visits. 62.7% of the GPs reported increased telephone contact and reduced personal contact with patients; 36.1% offered video consultations in lieu of face-to-face contact. The GPs reported that relatives were restricted (48.5%) or prohibited from visiting (33.4%) patients in nursing homes. They observed a fear of loneliness among patients in nursing homes (91.9%), private homes (87.3%) and hospitals (86.1%)., Conclusions: The present work provides insights into the pandemic management of GPs and supports the development of a national strategy for palliative care during a pandemic. To effectively address end-of-life care, GPs and palliative care specialists should be involved in COVID-19 task forces on micro, meso and macro levels of health care., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Objectives: A collaborative study was undertaken by palliative care and public health on behalf of Chorley & South Ribble and Greater Preston Clinical Commissioning Groups. Going beyond a traditional needs assessment by providing projections of local palliative and end-of-life care needs in all conditions over 20 years, the study will support locality commissioning and development of appropriate health care services., Study Design: Population-based needs assessment involving secondary analysis of routinely available regional mortality and population data for Central Lancashire (2017). Palliative care need was estimated using three different recognised methods., Methods: These estimates were combined with routinely available population and mortality projections and observed trends in palliative care need to provide projections up to 2040., Results: Palliative care need in 2017 in Chorley & South Ribble and Greater Preston is estimated to be between 75% (1292) and 97% (1670), and 74.9% (1337) and 95.7% (1710) of all deaths, respectively. By 2040, the annual need is projected to increase compared with 2017 figures, by 24.2-55.9% (314-729 more deaths) in Chorley & South Ribble and by 13.4-41.4% (180-554 more deaths) in Greater Preston. The numbers of deaths from dementia are forecast to increase by three-fold in both localities., Conclusion: This study demonstrates practical application of public health data to support the development of locally responsive palliative care services. Dissemination of findings from this needs assessment on rising palliative care need, including numbers of deaths in different disease groups, provides direction to plan appropriate, equitable and sustainable services. Rapidly growing dementia deaths deserve particular attention in the planning of care. Collaborative work between public health and palliative care in other settings is encouraged, and will likely increase in significance as the full impact of COVID-19 is felt., (Copyright © 2021 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The sudden and unprecedented increase in seriously ill patients with COVID-19, coupled with both the lack of core palliative care training and expertise among frontline providers and the specialty-trained palliative care workforce shortage, produced immediate challenges to meet the needs of this novel seriously ill patient population. In this article, we describe the rapid expansion and creation of new specialty palliative care services across a health system to meet demands of the COVID-19 surge in New York City. During April 2020, 1019 patients received inpatient specialty palliative care consultations across the Mount Sinai Health System. This overview demonstrates how palliative care services can be titrated up rapidly to meet the acute increase in hospitalized persons with serious illness due to COVID-19, and how these services tailored to the changing needs across a health system.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify patterns of palliative chemotherapy (CTh) and the associated overall survival (OS) in patients with pancreatic cancer, with specific focus on age., Methods: Between May 1, 2011, and April 30, 2016, 4260 patients were registered in the Danish Pancreatic Cancer Database. The 1715 patients receiving palliative CTh were retrieved. Age was grouped into less than 70, 70 to less than 75, and 75 years or more., Results: Of the 1715 patients receiving first-line CTh, 586 (34%) underwent second-line CTh and 151 (9%) third-line CTh. First-line gemcitabine resulted in a significant worse survival compared with combination CTh, hazard ratio 1.51. For combination CTh, OS differed between the age groups, P < 0.01. The median OS in the less than 70 years (n = 547), 70 to less than 75 years (n = 163), and 75 years or more (n = 67) groups were 9.3, 9.6, and 7.2 months, respectively. No differences in survival were observed among patients receiving first-line gemcitabine (P = 0.35)., Conclusions: Our findings are useful in treatment-related decision making in patients with pancreatic cancer. A significant survival benefit was observed for all patients after first-line combination CTh. The effect of combination CTh was most prominent among patients aged less than 75 years. By age, no differences in survival were observed in those receiving gemcitabine., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

This paper chronicles the third decade of MASCC from 2010. There was a generational change in this decade, building on the solid foundation of the founders. It included the first female President, and a new Executive Director with a background in strategy and business development and operations as applied to healthcare. The headquarters moved from Copenhagen to Toronto. The first meeting to be held outside of Europe or North America was held in Adelaide, Australia, and the membership in the Asia Pacific region expanded. A program of international affiliates saw national supportive care organisations formally link with MASCC. In cancer supportive care, there was a raft of new toxicities to manage as immunotherapies were added to conventional cytotoxic treatment. There was also a greater emphasis on the psychosocial needs of patients and families. New MASCC groups were formed to respond to this evolution in cancer management. The MASCC journal, Supportive Care in Cancer, continued to grow in impact, and MASCC published two editions of a textbook of supportive care and survivorship. The decade ended with the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that served to highlight the importance of good supportive care to patients with cancer.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a common cancer with a poor prognosis, associated with high economic costs and a significant burden of disease. While it is often asymptomatic in the early stages, patients may experience great discomfort from advanced disease, treatment adverse effects, or decompensation of underlying cirrhosis. Palliative care has the potential to markedly improve quality of life, physical, and psychological symptoms in patients with end-stage liver disease, and has been shown to prolong survival in some nonhepatocellular carcinoma malignancies. However, this service is underutilized in hepatocellular carcinoma, and referrals are frequently late due to factors such as stigmatization, inadequate resources, lack of education for nonpalliative care physicians and inadequate modeling for integration of palliative and supportive care within liver disease services. In the future, education workshops, population-based awareness campaigns, increased funding and improved models of care, may improve the uptake of palliative care and subsequently optimize patient care, particularly towards the end of life., (© 2020 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background: The corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has required specialist palliative care (SPC) services to respond by: (I) integrating infection prevention/control measures into care for their usual caseloads and (II) providing consultations and/or care for people dying from a new disease entity. The aim of the current study was to learn about the response of Australian SPC services to COVID-19 and its consequences in order to inform pandemic practice and policy., Methods: A cross-sectional, anonymous survey was administered online from May to July 2020. Email invitations were sent to 160 providers delivering 503 SPC services listed in the Australian Palliative Care Services Directory. Survey questions asked about service responses to COVID-19, impacts on care quality, and perceived benefits/disadvantages for palliative care clients post-pandemic. Open-ended responses were thematically coded using an established framework that classifies SPC pandemic responses under: 'stuff', 'staff', 'space', 'systems', 'separation', 'sedation', 'communication' and 'equity'., Results: Complete survey responses were received from 28 providers on behalf of 100 SPC services (response rates of 17%/20% respectively): 29 consultative, 25 community home-based, 21 outpatient, 15 inpatient wards/units, eight inpatient hospice and two other services. Responses were reported across all framework categories except 'sedation'. Concerns centred on: inadequate support for self-management, psychosocial needs and bereavement for clients living at home; pressures on staff capacity and wellbeing; and a perceived lack of health system preparedness for a potential future surge. Rapid implementation of telehealth across Australia was perceived to offer potential benefits to palliative care in the longer term, if provided with ongoing support., Conclusions: Meeting COVID-19-related challenges requires SPC to be agile and responsive. Advocacy is required to ensure the needs of people dying and their families are supported as well as people requiring acute care for COVID-19. Expansion of telehealth during the pandemic presents an opportunity for leveraging to benefit palliative care longer term.

Objective: To estimate future palliative care need and complexity of need in Scotland, and to identify priorities for future service delivery., Design: We estimated the prevalence of palliative care need by analysing the proportion of deaths from defined chronic progressive illnesses. We described linear projections up to 2040 using national death registry data and official mortality forecasts. An expert consultation and subsequent online consensus survey generated recommendations on meeting future palliative care need., Setting: Scotland, population of 5.4 million., Participants: All decedents in Scotland over 11 years (2007 to 2017). The consultation had 34 participants; 24 completed the consensus survey., Primary and Secondary Outcomes: Estimates of past and future palliative care need in Scotland from 2007 up to 2040. Multimorbidity was operationalised as two or more registered causes of death from different disease groups (cancer, organ failure, dementia, other). Consultation and survey data were analysed descriptively., Results: We project that by 2040, the number of people requiring palliative care will increase by at least 14%; and by 20% if we factor in multimorbidity. The number of people dying from multiple diseases associated with different disease groups is projected to increase from 27% of all deaths in 2017 to 43% by 2040. To address increased need and complexity, experts prioritised sustained investment in a national digital platform, roll-out of integrated electronic health and social care records; and approaches that remain person-centred., Conclusions: By 2040 more people in Scotland are projected to die with palliative care needs, and the complexity of need will increase markedly. Service delivery models must adapt to serve growing demand and complexity associated with dying from multiple diseases from different disease groups. We need sustained investment in secure, accessible, integrated and person-centred health and social care digital systems, to improve care coordination and optimise palliative care for people across care settings., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare: financial support to DC, AEB and SE as above; and no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous 3 years. AMF and RM are employed by Marie Curie, a charity that provides palliative and end-of-life care to people with a terminal illness across the UK., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background Patients with chronic disease prefer an adequately supported death at home, but often die in the hospital. We assessed temporal trends and sex differences in healthcare intensity and location of death among decedents with heart failure. Methods and Results This was a retrospective cohort study of adults with heart failure who died between April 1, 2004 and March 31, 2017 in Ontario, Canada. We used population-based administrative databases to assess healthcare utilization during the last 6 months of life and applied multilevel multivariable logistic regression to assess whether sex was independently associated with location of death. Among 396 024 decedents with heart failure, mean (SD) age was 81.8 (10.7) years, 51.5% were women, and 53.4% had in-hospital deaths. From 2004 to 2016, there was an increase in patients receiving mechanical ventilation (15.1%-19.6%), hemodialysis (5.2%-6.8%), and cardiac revascularization (1.7%-2.3%). Relative to men, women spent fewer days in a hospital (mean, 16.4 versus 18.3; mean difference, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.7-2.0; P <0.001) and in an intensive care unit (mean, 2.1 versus 3.0; mean difference, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.8-0.9; P <0.001); and less commonly received mechanical ventilation (15.5% versus 20.8%; P <0.001); hemodialysis (4.8% versus 7.7%; P <0.001); or cardiac catheterization (2.8% versus 4.6%; P <0.001). Female sex was independently associated with lower odds of in-hospital death (odds ratio, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.87-0.89). Mean (SD) 6-month direct healthcare cost was greater for in-hospital ($52 349 [$55 649]) than out-of-hospital ($35 998 [$31 900]) death. Conclusions Among decedents with heart failure, invasive care in the last 6 months increased in prevalence over time but was less common in women, who had lower odds of dying in a hospital.

Background: Although patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) receive poor-quality palliative care, information about the use of palliative sedation (PS) in the last days of life is very scarce., Objectives: To compare the use of PS in hospitalized patients who died from COPD or lung cancer and identify factors correlating with PS application., Methods: In a retrospective observational cohort study, from 1,675 patients died at a teaching hospital between 2013 and 2015, 109 patients who died from COPD and 85 from lung cancer were compared. Sociodemographic data, clinical characteristics, health care resource utilization, application of PS and prescribed drugs were recorded., Results: In the last 6 months of life, patients who died from COPD had more hospital admissions due to respiratory causes and less frequent support by a palliative home care team (PHCT). Meanwhile, during their last hospitalization, patients who died from COPD had fewer do-not-resuscitate orders and were subjected to more intensive care unit admissions and cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers. PS was applied less frequently in patients who died from COPD than in those who died from lung cancer (31 vs. 53%, p = 0.002). Overall, previous use of opioid drugs, support by a PHCT, and a diagnosis of COPD (adjusted odds ratio 0.48, 95% CI: 0.26-0.89, p = 0.020) were retained as factors independently related to PS. In COPD patients, only previous use of opioid drugs was identified as a PS-related factor., Conclusion: During their last days of life, hospitalized COPD patients receive PS less frequently than patients with lung cancer., (© 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: Early integration of palliative care (PC) for patients with advanced cancer has been recommended to improve quality of care. This study aims to describe prevalence, temporal trend and predictors of PC use in metastatic breast cancer (mBCa) patients receiving critical care therapies (CCT; included invasive mechanic ventilation, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube, total parenteral nutrition, tracheostomy and dialysis)., Methods: The National Inpatient Sample was queried for mBCa patients receiving CCT between 2005 and 2014. Annual percent changes (APC) were calculated for PC prevalence in the overall cohort and subgroups. Multivariable logistic analysis was used to explore predictors of PC use., Results: Of 5833 mBCa patients receiving CCT, 880 (15.09%) received PC. Rate of PC use increased significantly from 2.53% in 2005 to 25.96% in 2014 (APC: 35.75%; p < 0.0001). Higher increase in PC use was observed in South (from 0.65% to 27.11%; APC: 59.42%; p < 0.0001), medium bedsize hospitals (from 3.75% to 26.05%; APC: 38.16%; p = 0.0006) and urban teaching hospitals (from 4.13% to 29.86%; APC: 37.33%; p = 0.0005). Multivariable analysis revealed that year interval, urban teaching hospitals, and invasive mechanical ventilation were associated with increased PC use, while primary diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders, fractures, metastatic sites from lymph nodes and tracheostomy were associated with lower PC use., Conclusions: PC use in mBCa patients receiving CCT increases significantly over the period. However, it still remains low. Efforts to illustrate disparities in PC use are needed to improve quality of care for mBCa patients receiving CCT, especially for those hospitalized in rural and nonteaching hospitals., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: The linguistic and cultural diversity found in European societies creates specific challenges to palliative care clinicians. Patients' heterogeneous habits, beliefs and social situations, and in many cases language barriers, add complexity to clinicians' work. Cross-cultural teaching helps palliative care specialists deal with issues that arise from such diversity. This study aimed to provide interested educators and decision makers with ideas for how to implement cross-cultural training in palliative care., Methods: We conducted four focus groups in French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland. All groups consisted of a mix of experts in palliative care and/or cross-cultural teaching. The interdisciplinary research team submitted the data for thematic content analysis., Results: Focus-group participants saw a clear need for courses addressing cross-cultural issues in end-of-life care, including in medical disciplines outside of palliative care (e.g. geriatrics, oncology, intensive care). We found that these courses should be embedded in existing training offerings and should appear at all stages of curricula for end-of-life specialists. Two trends emerged related to course content. One focuses on clinicians' acquisition of cultural expertise and tools allowing them to deal with complex situations on their own; the other stresses the importance of clinicians' reflections and learning to collaborate with other professionals in complex situations. These trends evoke recent debates in the literature: the quest for expertise and tools is related to traditional twentieth century work on cross-cultural competence, whereas reflection and collaboration are central to more recent research that promotes cultural sensitivity and humility in clinicians., Conclusion: This study offers new insights into cross-cultural courses in palliative and end-of-life care. Basic knowledge on culture in medicine, variable practices related to death and dying, communication techniques, self-reflection on cultural references and aptitude for interprofessional collaboration are central to preparing clinicians in end-of-life settings to work with linguistically and culturally diverse patients.

Background: The disparities in access to pediatric palliative care and pain management in Latin America remains an unaddressed global health issue. Efforts to improve the development of Palliative Care (PC) provision have traditionally targeted services for adults, leaving the pediatric population unaddressed. Examples of such services are scarce and should be portrayed in scientific literature to inform decision-makers and service providers on models of care available to tackle the burden of Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC) in Low-and middle-income countries (LMIC). The purpose of this study is to describe the implementation of a pediatric palliative care program, "Taking Care of You" (TCY), in a tertiary care, university hospital in Cali, Colombia., Methods: A program's database was built with children between 0 to 18 years old and their families, from year 2017 to 2019. Descriptive analysis was carried out to evaluate the impact of the program and service delivery. A theory-based method was directed to describe the PPC program, according to the implementation of self-designed taxonomy, mapping theoretical levels and domains. Clinical outcomes in patients were included in the analysis., Results: Since 2017 the program has provided PPC services to 1.965 children. Most of them had an oncologic diagnosis and were referred from hospitalization services (53%). The number of ambulatory patients increased by 80% every trimester between 2017 and 2018. A 50% increase was reported in hospitalization, emergency, and intensive care units during the same time period., Conclusions: The program addressed a gap in the provision of PPC to children in Cali. It shows effective strategies used to implement a PPC program and how the referral times, coordination of care, communication with other hospital services were improved while providing compassionate/holistic care to children with life-limiting and threatening diseases and in end-of-life. The implementation of this program has required the onset of specific strategies and arrangements to promote awareness and education proving it a hard task, yet not impossible.

Background: Palliative care has an established role in improving the quality of life in patients with advanced cancer, but little is known regarding its delivery among patients with urologic malignancies., Objective: To determine trends in the utilization of palliative interventions among patients with advanced bladder, prostate, and kidney cancer., Design, Setting, and Participants: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients from years 2004 to 2013 in the National Cancer Database diagnosed with stage IV bladder (n = 17,997), prostate (n = 23,322), and kidney (n = 34,697) cancer, after excluding those with missing disease stage, treatment, and outcomes data., Outcome Measurements and Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were performed to evaluate utilization of palliative care intervention. Utilization was analyzed by cancer type and by overall survival strata (<6, 6-24, and >24 months). Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models analyzed overall survival., Results and Limitations: Palliative interventions were utilized in 12.5% (2,257/17,997), 14.7% (3,442/23,322), and 19.9% (6,935/34,697) of advanced bladder, prostate, and kidney cancer patients, respectively. Older age and longer survival were associated with lower odds of palliative intervention utilization in each malignancy, as was minority race in kidney and bladder cancer patients. Palliative radiation was used most commonly, and utilization of any palliative intervention was associated with poorer overall survival. Limitations largely stem from imperfect data abstraction, and the analysis of interventions' incomplete reflection of palliative care., Conclusions: Palliative interventions were seldom used among patients with advanced urologic malignancies. Palliative interventions were less frequently used in older patients and minority races. Further study is warranted to define the role of palliative interventions in advanced urologic malignancies and guide their utilization., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Palliative care emphasizes expertise in handling difficult conversations, discussing patients' wishes and supporting the caregiver(s). Here we outline the palliative approach of hoping for the best while preparing for the worst in several "what if" scenarios for people with Parkinson disease and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objective: The objective of this study was to understand the trends and characteristics of palliative care delivery among critically ill brain metastasis patients using a nationally representative database., Materials and Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of Nationwide Inpatient Sample data collected during 2005 to 2014. This study included critically ill patients, 18 years and above, diagnosed with brain metastasis, identified using International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision-Clinical Modification diagnosis and procedure codes. Multivariable logistic regression models were used for predicting factors associated with inpatient palliative care use., Results: Among 18,309 critically ill patients with brain metastasis, 3298 (18.0%) received inpatient palliative care. The rate of inpatient palliative care use among these patients increased from 3.2% to 28.5%, during 2005 to 2014 (P<0.001). Regression analysis showed that hospital teaching status (odds ratio [ORs], 1.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-1.84), primaries located in head and neck (OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.21-2.05) or lung (OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.22-1.44), and primary diagnosis of pneumonia (OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.22-1.97) or septicemia (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.30-1.97), were associated with higher palliative care use. Hispanic ethnicity (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.67-0.96), and hospital location in Northeast (OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.54-0.96), Midwest (OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.45-0.87), or South (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.48-0.86) were associated with lower palliative care use., Conclusions: Inpatient palliative care use increased significantly among critically ill patients with brain metastases, though overall rate was low. There were geographical and racial disparities among these patients. Health care providers and policy makers should focus on decreasing these disparities. In addition, hospitals should focus on adopting more palliative care services.

Parkinson's spectrum disorders (PSD) are neurodegenerative parkinsonian conditions that carry a tremendous symptom burden. Palliative care is an interdisciplinary medical specialty that focuses on improving quality of life for patients and caregivers affected by serious life-limiting illnesses, at any stage of disease. Research and clinical programs into this emerging therapeutic approach remain limited. This review focuses on the role of palliative care in the treatment of patients with PSD. Gaps in knowledge and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Background: Little is known about patients discharged to hospice following hospitalization for complications of cirrhosis., Aim: We sought to understand the current pattern of hospice utilization in patients with cirrhosis by evaluating the North American Consortium for the Study of End-stage Liver Disease (NACSELD) cohort., Methods: Patients with cirrhosis from 14 tertiary-care hepatology centers across North America non-electively hospitalized and prospectively enrolled were evaluated. Exclusion criteria included HIV infection, transplantation or non-hepatic malignancy. Random computer-based propensity score matching was undertaken in a 1:2 ratio based on admission MELD score ± 3 points., Results: Totally, 2718 patients were enrolled, 5% (N = 132) were discharged to hospice, 6% (N = 171) died, and the rest were discharged alive. Patients discharged to hospice were older (60 vs. 57 years, p = 0.04), less likely to have had SBP (13% vs. 28%, p = 0.002) and be listed for liver transplantation (11% vs. 26%, p = 0.0007). Features, on multivariable modeling, associated with increased probability of discharge to hospice as opposed to being discharged alive: grade-3-4 hepatic encephalopathy, a higher Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score, and a higher discharge serum creatinine; however, a higher serum sodium, being listed for transplant and being prescribed rifaximin or a statin were protective from hospice discharge., Conclusion: Patients with more advanced liver disease, hepatic encephalopathy, renal dysfunction, and those not candidates for liver transplantation were more likely to be discharged to hospice. However, in this sick multinational cohort of cirrhotic inpatients, it seems that hospice is markedly underutilized (5%) since 25% of patients not discharged to hospice died within 6 months.

Introduction: Palliative care is a multidisciplinary therapy formed by physical, social, psychological, cultural and spiritual support of patients and families. The aim of the present study is to compare the survival rates of the intensive care unit (ICU) and palliative care unit (PCU)., Materials and Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study was performed using the database of an intensive care unit. Patients with terminal illness admitted to the intensive care unit or palliative care unit were included in the study. Demographic data, comorbidities, time of admission, discharge and death were recorded. The survival estimation was completed using Kaplan Meier survival analysis., Result: A total of 112 patients were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups where 60 patients (53.6%) were in Group ICU and 52 (46.4%) were in Group PCU. The Kaplan-Meier estimation of survival curves showed that the overall median time was 29 days. This result demonstrated that 50% of the patients was survived longer than 29 days, in which it was 12 days and 38 days for Group ICU and Group PCU, respectively (𝜒2= 3.475, p= 0.062). The cost of either intensive care unit or palliative care unit did not show any difference (p= 0.902)., Conclusions: The present study showed that long-term survival rates are similar in intensive care unit and palliative care unit.

Leading highly functional health care teams in all practice settings is sustained through the identification of a conceptual framework to guide education and practice. This article presents an interdisciplinary framework for palliative and hospice education and practice. The framework builds on theoretical caring to convey elements of relational, holistic and compassion; articulates interprofessional tenets for guiding values; and aligns with constructs for palliative and hospice best practices. The framework invites those at the bedside and in leadership to be intentional in attending to education and the necessary activities that address the day-to-day operations of palliative and hospice care, as well as, honoring all interdisciplinary collaboration that supports quality outcomes and inspires actions that transform.