Table 1.
Description of Sample by Palliative Care Consult Status, Matched (N = 1506) and Unmatched (N = 8085)
| Unmatched | Matched | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variables | Palliative care consulted (n = 753) | Usual care (n = 7332) | Absolute standardized difference (%) | Usual care (n = 753) | Absolute standardized difference (%) |
| Age, mean (SD) | 58.6 | 58.5 | 0.4 | 59.3 | 5.6 |
| Race (%) | |||||
| White | 60.3 | 62.2 | 3.9 | 58.2 | 4.3 |
| Black | 29.6 | 28.8 | 1.7 | 29.9 | 0.6 |
| Other | 8.0 | 7.5 | 1.7 | 9.3 | 5.0 |
| Missing | 2.1 | 1.5 | 4.5 | 2.6 | 4.0 |
| Sex: female (%) | 24.2 | 31.9 | 17.2 | 27.5 | 7.4 |
| Insurance (%) | |||||
| Medicare | 41.7 | 40.6 | 2.2 | 44.5 | 5.6 |
| Medicaid | 18.3 | 19.1 | 2.1 | 16.7 | 4.1 |
| Other public | 3.7 | 2.9 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 2.2 |
| Uninsured | 1.8 | 2.6 | 5.1 | 1.8 | 0.0 |
| Private | 30.3 | 31.0 | 1.7 | 29.3 | 2.0 |
| Missing | 4.1 | 3.8 | 1.7 | 4.4 | 1.4 |
| Cancer type (%) | |||||
| Digestive: yes | 46.5 | 32.4 | 29.0 | 47.9 | 3.0 |
| Breast: yes | 6.4 | 7.9 | 6.1 | 7.2 | 3.1 |
| Bone/joint: yes | 23.6 | 16.3 | 18.5 | 23.2 | 1.0 |
| Soft tissue: yes | 2.5 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
| Skin: yes | 5.6 | 2.5 | 15.6 | 4.5 | 5.4 |
| Head/neck: yes | 1.5 | 3.5 | 13.2 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
| Urological: yes | 5.8 | 5.4 | 2.1 | 5.7 | 0.6 |
| Lung/thoracic: yes | 31.3 | 25.7 | 12.4 | 28.9 | 5.3 |
| Gynecological: yes | 30.0 | 27.3 | 5.9 | 26.2 | 8.5 |
| Other/ill defined: yes | 23.7 | 15.4 | 21.2 | 22.8 | 2.4 |
| CNS: yes | 12.6 | 10.8 | 5.6 | 12.3 | 0.8 |
| Missing: yes | 5.4 | 8.8 | 13.0 | 4.0 | 5.7 |
| Cancer stage (%) | |||||
| 0 or 1 | 8.6 | 11.3 | 9.0 | 9.4 | 2.8 |
| 2 or 3 | 33.5 | 29.1 | 9.8 | 35.4 | 4.0 |
| 4 | 23.6 | 24.3 | 1.6 | 23.1 | 1.2 |
| Missing | 34.1 | 35.3 | 2.4 | 32.1 | 4.2 |
| Comorbidities: Charlson Index (%) | |||||
| 0 | 70.9 | 72.9 | 3.6 | 66.0 | 9.7 |
| 1 | 18.1 | 16.7 | 4.0 | 20.5 | 6.3 |
| ≥2 | 10.8 | 10.4 | 1.5 | 13.5 | 8.6 |
| Length of stay, mean days (SD) | 9.6 (8.9) | — | — | 10.5 (9.2) | |
| Days to death postdischarge, mean days (SD)a | 13.9 (8.5) | — | — | 14.0 (8.2) | — |
| PC consulted during a prior hospitalization: yes (%)b | 15.6 | 3.9 | 40.2 | 9.8 | 20.0 |
| Hospitalized in prior 30 days: yes (%)b | 30.2 | 22.5 | 17.6 | 24.2 | 13.9 |
| Service (%) | |||||
| Medical oncology | 53.5 | 60.8 | 14.8 | 56.6 | 6.2 |
| Gynecologic oncology | 46.4 | 39.2 | 14.8 | 43.4 | 6.2 |
| Year of encounter (%) | |||||
| 2010 | 10.8 | 16.3 | 16.1 | 10.6 | 0.6 |
| 2011 | 15.5 | 18.3 | 7.4 | 15.0 | 1.4 |
| 2012 | 13.6 | 15.9 | 6.5 | 14.6 | 2.6 |
| 2013 | 12.8 | 16.2 | 9.4 | 13.5 | 1.9 |
| 2014 | 15.4 | 13.4 | 5.7 | 16.1 | 1.9 |
| 2015 | 17.1 | 12.5 | 13.0 | 16.1 | 3.0 |
| 2016 | 14.6 | 7.4 | 23.3 | 14.1 | 1.7 |
a
Calculated for 349 encounters in the matched sample where a death date was recorded within 30 days of discharge date.
b
Covariates with standardized difference >10% were adjusted for in the postmatch analysis.
CNS, central nervous system, PC, palliative care; SD, standard deviation.