Table 2.
Palliative care needs in enrolled patients/residents
| Hospital n = 3,303 (%) |
Long-term care facility n = 2,086 (%) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Dysphagia | 579 (17.6%) | 596 (28.8%) |
| Any pressure ulcer | 484 (14.9%) | 205 (9.9%) |
| Pressure ulcer (stage III-IV) | 149 (4.5%) | 59 (2.8%) |
| Functional decline* | 1,855 (56.2%) | 1,015 (48.7%) |
| Nutritional decline¶ | 1,209 (36.6%) | 498 (23.9%) |
| Repeated hospitalizations§ | 1,497 (45.3%) | 221 (10.6%) |
| Delirium # | 595 (19.2%) | 570 (36.4%) |
| Any pain¥ | 1,590 (48.1%) | 1,031 (49.4%) |
| Moderate to severe pain¥ | 856 (25.9%) | 424 (20.3%) |
* loss of > 30% in Barthel Index score over the previous 6 months
¶ unintentional loss of > 10% body weight over the previous 6 months
§ ≥2 hospital admissions within the last 12 months
# 4AT score ≥ 4. Data on delirium were available for 3,105 patients in hospital wards (94.0% of study sample) and 1,564 long term care facilities residents (75.0%)
¥ Any pain is defined as Numeric Pain Rating Scale ≥ 1 or Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia ≥ 1; moderate to severe pain is defined as Numeric Pain Rating Scale ≥ 4 or Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia ≥ 4