Palliative Performance Scale and survival in patients with cancer and non-cancer diagnoses needing a palliative care consultation: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) has been frequently used to estimate the survival time of palliative care patients. The objective was to determine the associations between the PPS and survival time among cancer and non-cancer patients in Thailand. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study. All in-patient adults who received a palliative care consultation at Chiang Mai University Hospital between 1 July 2018 to 31 July 2019 were included in the study and were followed-up until 26 June 2020. The Palliative Performance Scale was assessed using the validated Thai-Palliative Performance Scale for Adults. Survival analysis was used to determine the association between the Palliative Performance Scale and survival time among cancer and non-cancer patients. RESULTS: Out of 407 patients, 220 were male (54.1%). There were 307 cancer patients (75.4%) and 100 non-cancer patients (24.6%). The PPS and survival time in cancer patients were significantly correlated. Cancer patients with PPS 10, 20, 30, 40–60, and 70–80% had a median survival time of 2, 6, 13, 39, and 95 days, respectively. Non-cancer patients with PPS 10, 20, and 30% had a median survival time of 8, 6, and 24 days, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: While useful for estimating survival time for cancer patients, other factors should be taken into account in estimating the survival time for non-cancer patients. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12904-021-00773-8.