Table 1.
Baseline Patient Demographics (2000–2016)
| All | No PC | PC | p | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results | N | Results | n | Results | ||
| Age at diagnosis (years) | 70 (64–75) | 707 | 69 (63–75) | 112 | 72 (67–78) | <0.001 |
| Age at death (years) | 74 (67–80) | 536 | 73 (67–79) | 100 | 76 (69–81) | 0.007 |
| Male, n (%) | 523 (63) | 716 | 458 (64) | 112 | 65 (58) | 0.23 |
| White non-Hispanic, n (%) | 802 (97) | 716 | 696 (97) | 112 | 106 (95) | 0.15 |
| Smoker, n (%) | 559 (68) | 714 | 491 (69) | 110 | 68 (62) | 0.041 |
| Tobacco (pack years), mean (SD) | 23.4 (27.3) | 673 | 22.9 (25.8) | 108 | 26.2 (35.4) | 0.36 |
| Initial oxygen requirement (L), mean (SD) | 1.1 (1.8) | 710 | 1.1 (1.8) | 111 | 1.2 (1.9) | 0.57 |
| Initial oxygen requirement >0 L, n (%) | 267 (33) | 710 | 228 (21) | 111 | 39 (35) | 0.53 |
| Diagnosis to first visit (days) | 199 (0–563) | 708 | 204 (0–569) | 112 | 115 (0–474) | 0.014 |
| Diagnosis to death (days) | 1150 (603–1980) | 535 | 1158 (593–1954) | 100 | 1094 (625–2076) | 0.95 |
| Distance from center (miles) | 47 (15–104) | 714 | 54 (18–113) | 111 | 16 (10–47) | <0.001 |
| Number of center visits | 4 (2–9) | 716 | 4 (2–8) | 111 | 7 (3–14) | <0.001 |
| Support group, n (%) | 178 (22) | 716 | 139 (19) | 112 | 39 (35) | <0.001 |
| Charlson Index, mean (SD) | 0.76 (1.08) | 716 | 0.73 (1.06) | 112 | 0.95 (1.16) | 0.07 |
| Charlson Index ≥1, n (%) | 366 (44) | 716 | 304 (42) | 112 | 62 (55) | 0.011 |
PC referral recipients were older, had higher Charlson Indices ≥1, resided closer to the outpatient center, and had more follow-up visits. Values are documented as median or percentages (IQR), except when marked.
IQR, interquartile range; PC, palliative care; SD, standard deviation.