SYMPTOMS AND ATTITUDES OF 100 CONSECUTIVE PATIENTS ADMITTED TO AN ACUTE HOSPICE PALLIATIVE CARE UNIT

One hundred patients admitted to an acute hospice/palliative care unit in a U.S. teaching hospital were evaluated using a standardized data acquisition tool that assessed the presence of physical symptoms and a ttitudes concerning admission to such a specialty unit. Patients enter ing the unit between June 1995 and October 1995 completed the tool wit hin 24 hours of admission. Symptoms reported were fatigue in 81 patien ts, anorexia in 70, dyspnea in 61, xerostomia in 58, cough in 52 pain in 49, confusion in 37, depression in 37, constipation in 35, nausea i n 30, insomnia in 23, and vomiting in 22. Of the 59 patients and famil y/friends that responded to the question ''How do you feel about hospi ce care?'', 53 gave a positive response. When asked about the best asp ects of the unit, the most common response related to the care the pat ient and family received (23 responses, 39%). We conclude that patient s admitted to an acute inpatient hospice/palliative care unit have mul tiple symptoms and a high degree of satisfaction with the environment. J Pain Symptom Manage 1998;16:307-316. (C) U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Co mmittee, 1998.