Demographic, symptom, and medication profiles of cancer patients seen by apalliative care consult team in a tertiary referral hospital

In this retrospective study the charts of 100 consecutive cancer patients w ho had been referred to a palliative care consult team within a tertiary ac ute care hospital were reviewed. Demographic characteristics, including rea son for admission and disease status upon admission, length of stay, and di scharge and admission location, were recorded. Symptom acuity cognitive sta tus, and risk for substance abuse were evaluated. Medications before and af ter the consult were tabulated and compared to recommended medications; com pliance with the recommendations was assessed. Five patients were not palli ative at the time of the consult. Only 46/95 (48 %) were known to have untr eatable cancer at the tine of their their admission. The CAGE questionnaire for alcoholism and the Mini-Mental State Questionnaire (MMSQ) were abnorma l in 19/78 (24 %) and 40/91 (44 %), respectively. The nest intense symptoms , as measured by the 100-mm scales of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) were fatigue (72 +/- 24), appetite (60 +/- 32), and well-being (50 +/- 29). Eighty-nine of the 95 patients were living at home prior to admiss ion and 34/95 were able to return home. Twenty died during hospitalization, 23 were transferred to a palliative care unit, and the remaining 18 were d ischarged to another hospital or long-term care. The patient's physician co mplied with the palliative care consult team's recommendation in 122/137 ca ses (89 %). (C) U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee, 2000.