Association between Consultation by a Comprehensive Integrated Palliative Care Program and Quality of End-of-Life Care in Patients with Advanced Cancer in Edmonton, Canada

Literature assessing the impact of palliative care (PC) consultation on aggressive care at the end of life (EOL) within a comprehensive integrated PC program is limited. We retrospectively reviewed patients with advanced cancer who received oncological care at a Canadian tertiary center, died between April 2013 and March 2014, and had access to PC consultation in all healthcare settings. Administrative databases were linked, and medical records reviewed. Composite score for aggressive EOL care was calculated, assigning a point for each of the following: ≥2 emergency room visits, ≥2 hospitalizations, hospitalization >14 days, ICU admission, and chemotherapy administration in the last 30 days of life, and hospital death. Multivariable logistic regression was adjusted for age, sex, income, cancer type and PC consultation for ≥1 aggressive EOL care indicator. Of 1414 eligible patients, 1111 (78.6%) received PC consultation. In multivariable analysis, PC consultation was independently associated with lower odds of ≥1 aggressive EOL care indicator (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.38–0.65, p < 0.001). PC consultation >3 versus ≤3 months before death had a greater effect on lower aggressive EOL care (mean composite score 0.59 versus 0.88, p < 0.001). We add evidence that PC consultation is associated with less aggressive care at the EOL for patients with advanced cancer.