Table 2.
Outcome measures
| Total (n = 189) |
Young-Old (< 80 years old) (n = 57) |
Old-Old (≥80 years) (n = 132) |
P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare utilisation | ||||
| Total number of hospital admissions (mean, SD) | 2.6 (2.0) | 3.0 (2.2) | 2.5 (1.9) | 0.12 |
| Total number of days spent in hospital during last year of life* (mean, SD) | 24.8 (28.1) | 30.5 (37.7) | 22.3 (22.4) | 0.04 |
| ED admission (mean, SD) | 2.7 (2.0) | 3.0 (2.2) | 2.6 (1.9) | 0.20 |
| Clinic visits* (mean, SD) | 2.6 (4.1) | 3.4 (4.9) | 2.3 (3.2) | 0.03 |
| Length of stay in terminal admission (mean, SD) | 8.5 (8.4) | 9.3 (9.0) | 8.1 (8.1) | 0.20 |
| End-of-life care | ||||
| Radiological studies* Number (mean, SD) | 3.7 (5.2) | 5.2 (8.3) | 3.1(2.8) | 0.012 |
| 1 (count, %) | 58 (30.7) | 16 (2.8) | 42 (31.8) | |
| 2–5 | 102 (54.0) | 27 (47.4) | 75 (56.8) | |
| 6–10 | 18 (9.5) | 7 (12.3) | 11 (8.3) | |
| > 10 | 15 (7.9) | 12 (21.1) | 3 (2.3) | |
| Antibiotics Use (count, %) | 178 (94.2) | 53 (93.0) | 125 (94.7) | 0.93 |
| Number of antibiotics (mean, SD) | 1.8 (1.0) | 1.8 (1.1) | 1.8 (1.0) | |
| Symptom control (count, %) | ||||
| Opiates | 128 (67.7) | 43 (75.4) | 85 (64.4) | 0.14 |
| Sedatives | 15 (7.9) | 6 (10.5) | 9 (6.8) | 0.38 |
| Anti-cholinergic | 58 (30.7) | 19 (33.3) | 39 (29.6) | 0.61 |
| Anti-emetics | 8 (4.3) | 2 (3.5) | 6 (4.6) | 0.74 |
| ACP (count, %) | ||||
| Referred | 31 (16.4) | 10 (17.5) | 21 (15.9) | 0.70 |
| Completed (out of referred ACP) | 10 (32.3) | 2 (20.0) | 8 (38.1) | 0.7 |
ED emergency department, ACP advance care planning;
* denotes p < 0.05