Korean J Hosp Palliat Care.  2015 Dec;18(4):322-328. 10.14475/kjhpc.2015.18.4.322.

Comparison of End-of-Life Care Intensity between Cancer and Non-cancer Patients: a Single Center Experience

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. wkiki@naver.com

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aging of society has rapidly progressed, especially in Korea. Therefore, the necessity of research on end-of-life (EOL) care in elderly patients has increased. However, there are few studies on EOL care intensity for non-cancer patients. This study was designed to compare the EOL care intensity between cancer and non-cancer patients.
METHODS
We retrospectively analyzed the EOL care intensity based on medical records of decedents of Kyung Hee University Medical Center, a tertiary referral hospital from December 2014 through March 2015. And we compared EOL care intensity between cancer patients and non-cancer patients using statistical analysis of the frequency of invasive procedures and logistic regression analysis for factors that affect the EOL care intensity.
RESULTS
Statistical analysis showed invasive procedures, such as intensive care unit admission, endotracheal intubation followed by mechanical ventilation and emergency dialysis, were performed more frequently in non-cancer patients than cancer patients (29.3% vs. 72.4%, P<0.001). And age (P=0.038) and morbidity of cancer (P<0.001) influenced the invasive procedural decision when analyzed by logistic regression analysis.
CONCLUSION
The EOL care was more intensive in non-cancer patients, and age and morbidity of cancer were major factors for the treatment intensity.

Keyword

Terminal care; Adult; Intensive care; Decision making

MeSH Terms

Academic Medical Centers
Adult
Aged
Aging
Decision Making
Dialysis
Emergencies
Humans
Critical Care
Intensive Care Units
Intubation, Intratracheal
Korea
Logistic Models
Medical Records
Respiration, Artificial
Retrospective Studies
Terminal Care
Tertiary Care Centers
Full Text Links
  • KJHPC
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr