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Patients with heart failure who die in hospice.
- Source :
-
American heart journal [Am Heart J] 2005 Mar; Vol. 149 (3), pp. 558-64. - Publication Year :
- 2005
-
Abstract
- Background: Patients with end-stage heart failure experience disability, dyspnea, pain, and suffering at the end of life despite progress in treatment approaches. Little is known about the patients with heart failure in hospice and the impact of hospice care on health-related outcomes.<br />Methods and Results: The purposes of this retrospective, descriptive chart review were to (1) describe the characteristics of patients who receive hospice care, (2) identify symptoms most commonly reported by patients with heart failure in hospice during the last 7 days of life, and (3) identify interventions used by hospice nurses to manage the symptoms. The majority of the patients were women, widowed, and white. Median length of stay was 10 days. Nearly 37% of the patients were admitted to hospice during the last week of life. Primary symptoms at admission for hospice care included dyspnea, confusion at least some of the time, and poor appetite. There was no statistically significant difference in symptoms between the day of admission for hospice care and the day of death. Symptom management strategies included oxygen, family reassurance or education, skin care, and patient education. Medications commonly used to relieve symptoms included antianxiety medications, morphine, and/or other narcotics. Although mainstay heart failure drugs had been prescribed for some patients, prescription rates were low and not in line with current guideline recommendations, nor were those medications recorded as being used for symptom management.<br />Conclusion: Further research including prospective study is needed to clearly articulate the impact of hospice care on patients and families affected by heart failure.
- Subjects :
- Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Caregivers classification
Caregivers statistics & numerical data
Comorbidity
Confusion epidemiology
Dyspnea epidemiology
Fecal Incontinence epidemiology
Female
Heart Failure classification
Humans
Length of Stay statistics & numerical data
Male
Middle Aged
Palliative Care classification
Retrospective Studies
Socioeconomic Factors
Survival Analysis
United States epidemiology
Urinary Incontinence epidemiology
Heart Failure mortality
Heart Failure nursing
Hospices statistics & numerical data
Palliative Care statistics & numerical data
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1097-6744
- Volume :
- 149
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- American heart journal
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 15864247
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2004.06.019