Table 1.

Demographic and Clinical Characteristics, Palliative Care Contacts, and Outcomes of 101 Hospital Inpatients With COVID-19 Referred to Palliative Care

Characteristic	Median [IQR] or n
Age, yrs	82 [72–89]
Sex, male:female	64:37
Elixhauser Comorbidity Index	6 [2–10]
Comorbidities
Hypertension	54
Diabetes	36
Dementia	31
Advanced/metastatic cancer	25
Chronic pulmonary disease	22
Renal failure	21
Congestive heart failure	18
Stroke/neurological disorder	12
Peripheral vascular disorder	4
Liver disease	2
AKPS	20 [10–20]
Missing	15
Level of care
Ward-based care	95
High dependency unit	5
Intensive care unit	1
Reason(s) for referral to palliative care
End-of-life care	70
Symptom control	41
Care planning	4
Psychological support	1
Phase of illness
Dying	63
Unstable	24
Deteriorating	7
Stable	1
Missing	6
Days of palliative care involvement	2 [1–4]
Palliative care contacts	3 [2–5]
Contacts by recipient
Patient	2 [1–3]
Family	1 [0–1]
Hospital staff	2 [1–4]
Contacts by type
In person	3 [1–4]
Telephone	1 [0–1]
Outcome
Death	75
Discharged	13
Back to team	10
Home	2
To hospice	1
Remains under palliative inpatient care	13

AKPS = Australia-modified Karnofsky Performance Status; IQR = interquartile range.

Data are median [IQR] or n.