Table 3.
Characteristics of Patients Enrolled in Hospice
| Characteristic | All Enrolled in Hospice n (%) |
Hospice LOS >3 d n (%) |
Hospice LOS ≤3 d n (%) |
P Valuea |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total, N | 147 | 125 | 22 | |
| Age, median (range), y | 61 (31–91) | 61 (31–91) | 66 (34–81) | .105 |
| Sex | >.99 | |||
| Female | 71 (48.3) | 60 (48.0) | 11 (50.0) | |
| Male | 76 (51.7) | 65 (52.0) | 11 (50.0) | |
| Race | .113 | |||
| Black/African American | 18 (12.2) | 18 (14.4) | 0 (0) | |
| Other | 11 (7.5) | 10 (8.0) | 1 (4.5) | |
| White | 118 (80.3) | 97 (77.6) | 21 (95.5) | |
| Ethnicity | .387 | |||
| Hispanic | 3 (2.0) | 2 (1.6) | 1 (4.5) | |
| Non-Hispanic | 144 (98.0) | 123 (98.4) | 21 (95.5) | |
| Cancer type | .694 | |||
| Breast/Gynecologic | 18 (12.2) | 16 (12.8) | 2 (9.1) | |
| Central nervous system | 12 (8.2) | 12 (9.6) | 0 (0) | |
| Gastrointestinal | 59 (40.1) | 48 (38.4) | 11 (50.0) | |
| Genitourinary | 20 (13.6) | 16 (12.8) | 4 (18.2) | |
| Melanoma/Sarcoma | 16 (10.9) | 14 (11.2) | 2 (9.1) | |
| Thoracic/Lung | 22 (15.0) | 19 (15.2) | 3 (13.6) | |
| Originally treated at JHH | <.001 | |||
| Yes | 89 (60.5) | 86 (68.8) | 3 (13.6) | |
| No (referred) | 58 (39.5) | 39 (31.2) | 19 (86.4) | |
| Remained at JHH after disease progression | 94/147 (63.9) | 91/125 (72.8) | 3/22 (13.6) | <.001 |
| Treatments before study, median (range), n | 2 (0–9) | 2 (0–9) | 2 (1–7) | .753 |
| Referred to palliative care before progression | 84/147 (57.1) | 78/125 (62.4) | 6/22 (27.3) | .004 |
| Goals of care documented | 94/147 (63.9) | 87/125 (69.6) | 7/22 (31.8) | .001 |
| Hospice discussed after progression | 79/147 (53.7) | 73/125 (58.4) | 6/22 (27.3) | .01 |
| Received other treatment after progression | 65/147 (44.2) | 55/125 (44.0) | 10/22 (45.5) | >.99 |
| Referred by JHH outpatient team | 86/147 (58.5) | 83/125 (66.4) | 3/22 (13.6) | <.001 |
| Received chemotherapy in last 30 d of life | 25/145 (17.2) | 15/123 (12.2) | 10/22 (45.5) | <.001 |
| Hospice LOS, median (range), d | 20 (0–184) | 24 (4–184) | 2 (0–3) | <.001 |
| Place of death | <.001 | |||
| Home | 127 (86.4) | 114 (91.2) | 13 (59.1) | |
| Hospital | 3 (2.0) | 0 (0) | 3 (13.6) | |
| Facility | 17 (11.6) | 11 (8.8) | 6 (27.3) | |
| Inpatient care in last 30 d of life | 25/147 (17.0) | 14/125 (11.2) | 11/22 (50.0) | <.001 |
| Hospice provided in home or nursing home | 122/145 (84.1) | 111/124 (89.5) | 11/21 (52.4) | <.001 |
| ICU admission in last 30 d of life | 2/147 (1.4) | 0/125 (0) | 2/22 (9.1) | .022 |
| Hospitalized in last 30 d of life | 45/146 (30.8) | 27/124 (21.8) | 18/22 (81.8) | <.001 |
| Nursing home care in last 90 d of life | 7/147 (4.8) | 4/125 (3.2) | 3/22 (13.6) | .069 |
| Healthcare transition in last 3 d of life | 23/147 (15.6) | 4/125 (3.2) | 19/22 (86.4) | <.001 |
| >3 Hospitalizations in last 90 d of life | 12/147 (8.2) | 9/125 (7.2) | 3/22 (13.6) | .39 |
Abbreviations: JHH, Johns Hopkins Hospital; LOS, length of stay.
a
P values for Fisher exact test for categorical variables or Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables for differences between groups of patients according to hospice LOS (≤3 vs >3 days).