Table 3.
A Comparison of Clinical and Financial Outcomes between Patients Who Received a Palliative Care Consultation during Their Inpatient Admission and Patients Who Did Not
| Characteristic | No palliative care N (%) | Palliative care N (%) | p value | Total N (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length of stay, days, median (IQR) | 4 (3–7) | 5 (2–8) | <0.001 | 4 (3–7) |
| Length of stay | ||||
| 0–5 days | 134,574 (52.0) | 11,791 (48.9) | 146,365 (51.7) | |
| 5–9 days | 87,127 (33.7) | 7388 (30.7) | 94,515 (33.4) | |
| 10–14 days | 23,032 (8.9) | 2653 (11.0) | 25,685 (9.1) | |
| >14 days | 14,066 (5.4) | 2268 (9.4) | 16,334 (5.8) | |
| In-hospital complicationa | 73,330 (28.3) | 11,064 (45.9) | <0.001 | 84,394 (29.8) |
| Death | 13,889 (5.4) | 10,630 (44.1) | <0.001 | 24,519 (8.7) |
| Discharge dispositionb (n = 258,305) | <0.001 | |||
| Routine discharge | 172,484 (70.5) | 3852 (28.6) | 176,336 (68.3) | |
| Discharge with additional care | 70,411 (28.8) | 9173 (68.2) | 79,584 (30.8) | |
| Otherc | 1950 (0.8) | 435 (3.2) | 2385 (0.9) | |
| Total hospital charges, $, median (IQR) | $36,367 ($19,406–$66,298) | $30,259 ($14,169–$62,760) | <0.001 | $35,888 ($18,968–$66,042) |
Analysis presented here is for all patients included in the final study cohort (n = 282,899).
a
Includes Sepsis, Pneumonia, Surgical Site Infection, Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage, Venous Thromboembolism, Respiratory Failure, Renal Failure, Myocardial Infarction, Stroke, and Postoperative Fistula.
b
Only among patients who survived to discharge.
c
Includes leave against medical advice, unknown destination, and transferred to court as defined by the AHRQ.