Table 2.
Baseline characteristics at date of first palliative care visit (index date) of matched patients in the last six months of life who died of non-cancer illness in Ontario between 2010 and 2015 by receipt of palliative care. Data are number (%) of patients unless stated otherwise
| Received palliative care | Weighted standardised difference | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (n=23 265) | No (n=40 055) | ||
| Age (mean (standard deviation)) | 84.6 (9.0) | 84.5 (8.9) | 0.00 |
| Female sex | 13 700 (58.9) | 23 590 (58.9) | 0.00 |
| Cause of death | |||
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 4094 (17.6) | 7800 (19.5) | 0.00 |
| Dementia | 9255 (39.8) | 16 023 (40.0) | 0.00 |
| Cirrhosis | 333 (1.4) | 516 (1.3) | 0.00 |
| End stage renal disease | 2339 (10.1) | 3607 (9.0) | 0.00 |
| Congestive heart failure | 2768 (11.9) | 4261 (10.6) | 0.00 |
| Stroke | 4476 (19.2) | 7848 (19.6) | 0.00 |
| Rural residence | 2424 (10.4) | 5784 (14.4) | 0.09 |
| Hospital frailty score | |||
| Mean (standard deviation) | 12.3 (9.2) | 10.1 (8.7) | 0.30 |
| Median (IQR) | 11 (5-18) | 8 (3-15) | 0.30 |
| 0 | 1220 (5.2) | 3523 (8.8) | 0.14 |
| 0.1-8.9 | 7766 (33.4) | 13 945 (34.8) | 0.02 |
| ≥9 | 11 859 (51.0) | 15 205 (38.0) | 0.24 |
| Not admitted to hospital | 2420 (10.4) | 7382 (18.4) | 0.21 |
| Chronic conditions | |||
| Arrhythmia | 6914 (29.7) | 9135 (22.8) | 0.14 |
| Primary cancer | 1859 (8.0) | 2269 (5.7) | 0.09 |
| Metastatic cancer | 379 (1.6) | 158 (0.4) | 0.11 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 5768 (24.8) | 8593 (21.5) | 0.10 |
| Congestive heart failure | 6495 (27.9) | 8497 (21.2) | 0.14 |
| Coronary artery disease | 4803 (20.6) | 6670 (16.7) | 0.09 |
| Dementia | 7900 (34.0) | 11 201 (28.0) | 0.12 |
| Diabetes | 5908 (25.4) | 8999 (22.5) | 0.06 |
| Hypertension | 19 811 (85.2) | 32 975 (82.3) | 0.06 |
| Renal disease | 3705 (15.9) | 4566 (11.4) | 0.11 |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 817 (3.5) | 1190 (3.0) | 0.03 |
| Stroke | 4778 (20.5) | 5120 (12.8) | 0.20 |
| Previous healthcare use (median (IQR))* | |||
| No of unique drug prescriptions | 17 (10-24) | 16 (10-23) | 0.06 |
| Emergency department visits | 2 (1-3) | 1 (0-2) | 0.36 |
| Hospital admissions | 1 (0-2) | 0 (0-1) | 0.44 |
| Functional decline† | 8978 (38.6) | 9551 (23.8) | 0.32 |
| Physician type | |||
| General practitioner | 19 778 (85.0) | — | — |
| Specialist | 3487 (15.0) | — | — |
| Palliative care specialist | 5543 (23.8) | — | — |
IQR=interquartile range.
*
Previous healthcare use within one year of last six months of life.
†
For people with a completed home care assessment within last two years of life.