Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Nov;29(11):6595-6603.
doi: 10.1007/s00520-021-06248-z. Epub 2021 May 3.

Interventions and symptom relief in hospital palliative cancer care: results from a prospective longitudinal study

Morten Thronæs  1   2 , Erik Torbjørn Løhre  3   4 , Anne Kvikstad  3   4 , Elisabeth Brenne  3   4 , Robin Norvaag  4 , Kathrine Otelie Aalberg  3 , Martine Kjølberg Moen  5   6 , Gunnhild Jakobsen  3   4 , Pål Klepstad  5   6 , Arne Solberg  3   4 , Tora Skeidsvoll Solheim  3   4
Affiliations

Interventions and symptom relief in hospital palliative cancer care: results from a prospective longitudinal study

Morten Thronæs et al. Support Care Cancer. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

Purpose: To study the use of interventions and symptom relief for adult patients with incurable cancer admitted to an acute palliative care unit providing integrated oncology and palliative care services.

Methods: All admissions during 1 year were assessed. The use of interventions was evaluated for all hospitalizations. Patients with assessments for worst and average pain intensity, tiredness, drowsiness, nausea, appetite, dyspnea, depression, anxiety, well-being, constipation, and sleep were evaluated for symptom development during hospitalization. Descriptive statistics was applied for the use of interventions and the paired sample t-test to compare symptom intensities (SIs).

Results: For 451 admissions, mean hospital length of stay was 7.0 days and mean patient age 69 years. More than one-third received systemic cancer therapy. Diagnostic imaging was performed in 66% of the hospitalizations, intravenous rehydration in 45%, 37% received antibiotics, and 39% were attended by the multidisciplinary team. At admission and at discharge, respectively, 55% and 44% received oral opioids and 27% and 45% subcutaneous opioids. For the majority, opioid dose was adjusted during hospitalization. Symptom registrations were available for 180 patients. Tiredness yielded the highest mean SI score (5.6, NRS 0-10) at admission and nausea the lowest (2.2). Significant reductions during hospitalization were reported for all assessed SIs (p ≤ 0.01). Patients receiving systemic cancer therapy reported symptom relief similar to those not on systemic cancer therapy.

Conclusion: Clinical practice and symptom relief during hospitalization were described. Symptom improvements were similar for oncological and palliative care patients.

Keywords: Acute palliative care unit (APCU); Cancer; Integration; Palliative; Symptom development; Symptoms.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Patient inclusion and exclusion.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Teunissen SC, Wesker W, Kruitwagen C, de Haes HC, Voest EE, de Graeff A. Symptom prevalence in patients with incurable cancer: a systematic review. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2007;34(1):94–104. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2006.10.015. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Laugsand EA, Kaasa S, de Conno F, Hanks G, Klepstad P. Intensity and treatment of symptoms in 3,030 palliative care patients: a cross-sectional survey of the EAPC Research Network. J Opioid Manag. 2009;5(1):11–21. doi: 10.5055/jom.2009.0002. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Seow H, Barbera L, Sutradhar R, Howell D, Dudgeon D, Atzema C, et al. Trajectory of performance status and symptom scores for patients with cancer during the last six months of life. J ClinOncol. 2011;29(9):1151–1158. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2010.30.7173. - DOI - PubMed
    1. van den Beuken-van Everdingen MH, de Rijke JM, Kessels AG, Schouten HC, van Kleef M, Patijn J. Prevalence of pain in patients with cancer: a systematic review of the past 40 years. Ann Oncol. 2007;18(9):1437–1449. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdm056. - DOI - PubMed
    1. van den Beuken-van Everdingen MH, Hochstenbach LM, Joosten EA, Tjan-Heijnen VC, Janssen DJ. Update on prevalence of pain in patients with cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2016;51(6):1070–1090 e9. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.12.340. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources