Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Mar 2020
Observational StudyPalliative care needs of advanced cancer patients in the emergency department at the end of life: an observational cohort study.
Patients with advanced cancer commonly visit the emergency department (ED) during the last 3 months of life. Identification of these patients and their palliative care needs help initiating appropriate care according to patients' wishes. Our objective was to provide insight into ED visits of advanced cancer patients at the end of life. ⋯ ED visits of advanced cancer patients often lead to hospitalization and in-hospital deaths. Timely recognition of patients with limited life expectancies and urgent palliative care needs, and awareness among ED staff of the potential of ED-initiated palliative care may improve the end-of-life trajectory of these patients.