Table 1.
Characteristics of Two Thousand Five Hundred Sixty-Eight Patients Admitted to the APCU
| Number (%)a | |
|---|---|
| Median age, years (range) | 59 (18–101) |
| Female | 1255 (48.9%) |
| Race | |
| Caucasian | 1717 (66.9%) |
| Black | 416 (16.2%) |
| Hispanic | 306 (11.9%) |
| Others | 129 (5.0%) |
| Religionb | |
| Christian | 2095 (93.9%) |
| Non-Christian | 135 (6.1%) |
| Cancer diagnosis | |
| Breast | 206 (8.0%) |
| Central nervous system | 22 (0.9%) |
| Dermatologic | 98 (3.8%) |
| Endocrine | 22 (0.9%) |
| Gastrointestinal | 506 (19.7%) |
| Genitourinary | 266 (10.4%) |
| Gynecologic | 216 (8.4%) |
| Head and neck | 152 (5.9%) |
| Hematologic | 292 (11.4%) |
| Sarcoma | 105 (4.1%) |
| Unknown primary | 91 (3.5%) |
| Respiratory | 592 (23.1%) |
| Admission type | |
| Direct admission to APCU | 728 (28.3%) |
| Transfers to APCU from oncology units | 1840 (71.7%) |
| Median admission duration | |
| MDA hospital stay in days (Q1–Q3) | 11 (8–17) |
| APCU stay in days (Q1–Q3) | 7 (4–10) |
| Number of admissions | |
| 1 | 2324 (90.5%) |
| 2 | 183 (7.1%) |
| 3 | 42 (1.6%) |
| 4 | 13 (0.5%) |
| 5 | 5 (0.2%) |
| 9 | 1 (0.04%) |
a
Unless otherwise stated.
b
Information regarding religion was unavailable for 338 patients.
APCU, acute palliative care unit; MDA, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.