SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY
Shreya Sinha, Alina Basnet, Wajihuddin Syed, Pallavi Koparthy, Rashad Khan, Bhaskara Reddy Madhira, Danning Huang, Sheila M. Lemke
Background: Despite ASCO’s recommendation to introduce palliative care services for all patients diagnosed with localized or metastatic pancreatic cancer, most patients’ care does not involve this multimodality approach. Transitioning patients to hospice at an appropriate time is essential in oncologic practice. The purpose of this study is to identify which variables affect acceptance of hospice services by patients. Methods: A retrospective chart review of patients with pancreatic cancer treated at Upstate University Hospital from 2011-2015 was performed. We studied variables including age, sex, race, stage, insurance status, advance directives, performance status and laboratory values. We analyzed patients based on acceptance or rejection of hospice care in their disease course and conducted a univariate analysis on different factors to determine predisposing variables. p-values were calculated using Chi-Square test and t-test. Results: We reviewed 325 patients charts and found statistically significant relation to acceptance of hospice and insurance status, and involvement of palliative care in their care. Patients with Medicare were more likely to decline hospice care whereas patients with Medicaid or no insurance were more likely to accept it. 36.23% of patients saw palliative care services at any point in their treatment course and these patients were more likely to accept hospice care than patients who did not (p = < 0.0001). Patients who were seen by palliative care earlier in their disease course were more likely to accept hospice care, although this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.0731). Patients with stage IV disease were more likely to accept hospice care (p = 0.0095). Other variables like presence of advanced directives, tumor markers, age, and sex did not have a significant impact. Conclusions: Palliative care involvement is beneficial in patients with pancreatic cancer as they face a rough disease course with multiple treatment and disease related morbidities. Patients with early palliative care involvement during their illness are more likely to decide on hospice care at the end stages of their malignancies. This supports early palliative care introduction as an adjunct to oncologic care.
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