Assessment of Intervention by a Palliative Care Team Working in a Japanese General Hospital: A Retrospective Study. (September 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Amano, Koji; Morita, Tatsuya; Tatara, Ryohei; Katayama, Hirofumi; Aiki, Sayo; Kitada, Namiki; Fumimoto, Hiromi; Sato, Emi
• Is Part Of: American journal of hospice & palliative care. Volume 32:Number 6(2015)
• Page Start: 600
• Page End: 603
• Publication Date: 2015-09
• Subjects: palliative care team -- inpatient hospice -- patient with cancer -- opioid prescription -- length of stay; Hospice care -- Periodicals; Palliative treatment -- Periodicals; 362.175
• DOI: 10.1177/1049909114532340
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1049-9091

Abstract

Our objective was to explore the effectiveness of a palliative care team (PCT) by investigating potential differences in opioid prescription between patients who had had PCT involvement before admission to an inpatient hospice and those who had not. A total of 221 patients met the criteria; they were divided into an intervention group (n = 140) and a control group (n = 81). The daily dose of opioid before admission to the hospice was significantly higher in the intervention group ( P < .001). The difference between the maximum opioid dose and the initial dose, the rate of increase in opioids until death, and the length of stay in the hospice were not significantly different between the groups. A PCT contributes to more appropriate use of opioids before admission to a hospice.