Journal of hospital medicine : an official publication of the Society of Hospital Medicine
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Caring about prognosis: a validation study of the caring criteria to identify hospitalized patients at high risk for death at 1 year.
Identifying patients, at the time of hospital admission, who are at high risk for 1-year mortality is an ideal opportunity to introduce palliative interventions into the hospital care plan. The CARING (C = primary diagnosis of cancer, A = ≥ 2 admissions to the hospital for a chronic illness within the last year; R = resident in a nursing home; I = intensive care unit admission with multiorgan failure, NG = noncancer hospice guidelines [meeting ≥ 2 of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's guidelines] criteria is a practical prognostic index developed and validated in the Veteran's Administration hospital setting that identifies patients at high risk of death within 1 year, although its effectiveness in a broader patient population is unknown. ⋯ The CARING criteria are a practical prognostic tool validated in a broad inpatient population that can be utilized on hospital admission to estimate risk of death in 1 year, with the goal of identifying patients who may benefit most from incorporating palliative interventions into their hospital plan of care. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2013;8:696-701. © 2013 Society of Hospital Medicine.