Table 3.
Characteristics of the patients (N = 317)
| Characteristics | Number (%) |
|---|---|
| Age (median; range) | 63 years (19–95) |
| Gender | |
| Female | 155 (48.9) |
| Marital status | |
| • Married | 220 (69.4) |
| • Widowed | 43 (13.6) |
| • Single | 31 (9.8) |
| • Divorced | 23 (7.3) |
| Types of malignancies | |
| • Gastrointestinal cancer | 127 (40.1) |
| • Primary lung cancer | 57 (18) |
| • Head and neck cancer | 43 (13.6) |
| • Genitourinary cancer | 34 (10.7) |
| • Breast cancer | 22 (6.9) |
| • Others | 34 (10.7) |
| Metastases | |
| No evidence of metastases at initial consultation | 35 (11) |
| PPS level (%)a | |
| • ≤ 30 | 130 (41) |
| • 40–60 | 102 (32.2) |
| • ≥ 70 | 65 (20.5) |
| Charlson comorbidity index | |
| • ≤ 3 | 196 (61.8) |
| • > 3 | 121 (38.2) |
| Types of service | |
| • Hospital admission | 191 (60.3) |
| • Palliative care clinic visit | 126 (39.7) |
| • Home visit | 97 (30.6) |
| Concurrent cancer treatments | |
| • Chemotherapy | 62 (19.6) |
| • Radiotherapy | 49 (15.5) |
| • Surgery | 13 (4.1) |
| Types of opioidsb | |
| • Morphine sulfate (Oral) | 235 (74.1) |
| • Morphine sulfate (Intravenous) | 155 (48.9) |
| • Morphine sulfate (Subcutaneous) | 5 (1.6) |
| • Fentanyl TTS 12 mcg/h | 70 (22.1) |
| • Fentanyl TTS 25 mcg/h | 78 (24.6) |
| • Fentanyl TTS 50 mcg/h | 56 (17.7) |
| • Fentanyl citrate (Intravenous) | 22 (6.9) |
| • Pethidine hydrochloride (Intravenous) | 16 (5) |
| • Codeine phosphate (Oral) | 24 (7.6) |
| Patient status at the last follow-up | |
| • Dead | 228 (71.9) |
| • Alive | 89 (28.1) |
a N = 297, missing values in 20 patients (6.3%)
b N = 315, each patient could receive more than one type of opioid and two patients did not receive any opioid