Pattern and characteristics of patients admitted to a hospice connected with an acute palliative care unit in a comprehensive cancer center

PURPOSE: Information about inpatient hospice activity is limited. No data exist about the pattern and the characteristics of advanced cancer patients admitted to a hospice connected to an acute supportive/palliative care unit (ASPCU). METHODS: Data of hospice admissions were retrieved from the database where all data were prospectively collected. The Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and the use of analgesics and adjuvant were recorded at admission (T0), 1 week (T7), 2 weeks (T14), and the day before death (T-end). The use of palliative sedation and its indication, duration, and drugs end doses used were recorded. The number of hospice deaths, discharges, and hospice staying were recorded. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-seven patients were admitted in 13 months. There were significant differences in total ESAS at T0 (P = 0.033), total ESAS being significantly lower in patients admitted from the ASPCU than those referred from other settings. The day before death (T-end), only 48 patients could be evaluated. Patients referred by a palliative care setting were more likely to be prescribed opioids at T0 (P = 0.0007). At T-end, there was a significant increase in the use of morphine and haloperidol (P < 0.05). Seventeen percent of patients died within 48 h. Only a minority of patients could be properly assessed at T-end (25%). Palliative sedation was performed in 10.1% of patients. The mean hospice staying was 16.3 (SD 21.4) days. There were no differences in mean hospice staying between patients who died in hospice or those discharged (P = 0.873). CONCLUSION: The presence of a hospice in a comprehensive cancer center could offer a further opportunity for continuing care. Specialized palliative care may be offered to patients referred from other hospitals, home palliative care, but above all, transfer to hospice may allow a continuity of care for those patients who were initially admitted to an ASPCU for symptom control, to which anticancer therapies were withdrawn or withhold after multidisciplinary consultation. Similarly, after a proper palliative care consultation in other hospital units, patients may be referred to hospice. This process may avoid transfers to external hospices, which can prevent the continuity of care.