Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of Patients Receiving Pain and Palliative Care Consultations by Site of Consultation
| Overall n=1630a(%) | ICU subgroup n=157(9.6%) | Non-ICU medical subgroup n=937 (57.5%) | Other sitesb n=536 (32.9%) | p valuec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age group | |||||
| 65–74 years | 780 (47.9) | 87 (55.4) | 434 (46.4) | 259 (48.3) | 0.107 |
| ≥75 years | 849 (52.1) | 70 (44.6) | 502 (53.6) | 277 (51.7) | |
| Gender | |||||
| Male | 722 (44.3) | 82 (52.2) | 459 (49.0) | 181 (33.8) | <0.001 |
| Female | 907 (55.7) | 75 (47.8) | 478 (51.0) | 354 (66.2) | |
| Ethnicity | |||||
| White | 635 (39.0) | 40 (25.5) | 352 (37.6) | 243 (45.3) | <0.001 |
| Asian | 778 (47.7) | 87 (55.4) | 460 (49.1) | 231 (43.1) | |
| Pacific Islander | 160 (9.8) | 23 (14.7) | 96 (10.3) | 41 (7.7) | |
| Other | 57 (3.5) | 7 (4.5) | 29 (3.1) | 21 (3.9) | |
| Consultation Indication | |||||
| Plan of care | 380 (23.3) | 63 (40.1) | 295 (31.5) | 22 (4.1) | <0.001 |
| Pain/symptomsd | 1250 (76.7) | 94 (59.9) | 642 (68.5) | 514 (95.9) | |
| Primary diagnosis | |||||
| Cardiac | 96 (5.9) | 7 (4.5) | 83 (8.9) | 6 (1.1) | <0.001 |
| Pulmonary | 76 (4.7) | 23 (14.7) | 44 (4.7) | 9 (1.7) | |
| Cancer | 470 (28.8) | 48 (30.6) | 388 (41.4) | 34 (6.3) | |
| Surgical | 699 (42.9) | 57 (36.3) | 197 (21.0) | 445 (83.0) | |
| Others | 289 (17.7) | 22 (14.0) | 225 (24.0) | 42 (7.8) | |
| LOS (days) | |||||
| Total LOS | 15.6±22.5 | 21.2±31.4 | 18.4±24.9 | 9.2±10.2 | <0.001 |
| Preconsult LOS | 6.4±15.5 | 9.9±20.1 | 8.2±17.9 | 2.1±5.1 | <0.001 |
| Karnofsky score | 52.9±25.5 | 46.0±30.0 | 45.9±23.8 | 67.2±20.7 | <0.001 |
| Disposition at hospital discharge | |||||
| Died in hospital | 305 (18.7) | 60 (38.2) | 223 (23.8) | 22 (4.1) | <0.001 |
| Survived | 1325 (81.3) | 97 (61.8) | 714 (76.2) | 514 (95.9) | |
a
Numbers may not add up to total due to missing data or rounding. Column percentages shown in parentheses. Means±standard deviations shown for continuous variables.
b
Other consultation sites included Non-ICU Surgical n=397 (24.4%) and rehabilitation floor n=139 (8.5%).
c
P value comparing differences by site of consultation (ICU, non-ICU medical, and other).
d
Pain/Symptom consultation indications: did not need assistance with plan of care and needed pain control (95.1%) and/or non-pain symptom control (11.1%: nausea, constipation, dyspnea, anxiety, confusion, depression).
ICU, intensive care unit; LOS, length of stay.