Emergency Calls in Palliative Care Patients
Author Information
Author(s): Wiese Christoph HR, Vossen-Wellmann Andrea, Morgenthal Hannah C, Popov Aron F, Graf Bernhard M, Hanekop Gerd G
Primary Institution: Medical Centre University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
Hypothesis
The study aims to show the influence of our palliative care team to reducing emergency calls by cancer patients or their relatives during the last six months of life.
Conclusion
Emergency calls were more likely to occur if the patients were not being attended by our palliative care team.
Supporting Evidence
- Emergency calls were placed for 18 patients (39%) during the final six months of their lives.
- In 16 cases (70%), the patient was admitted to the hospital after an emergency call.
- Twenty-one (91%) of the calls were made before patients had been enrolled to receive palliative care.
Takeaway
When patients have a palliative care team helping them, their families are less likely to call for emergency help.
Methodology
Fifty relatives of deceased patients were randomly selected and interviewed about emergency calls made during the final six months of the patient's life.
Potential Biases
The study may not account for all reasons for emergency calls due to its retrospective design.
Limitations
The study included only cancer patients and relied on retrospective data collection.
Participant Demographics
{"caregivers":{"female":32,"male":14,"mean_age":58},"patients":{"female":24,"male":22,"mean_age":64}}
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.0043
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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