The American journal of hospice & palliative care
-
The medical records of deceased patients were reviewed to describe the pattern of cancer deaths in a newly established Saudi tertiary care hospital. During eleven months, 87 patients died of cancer. The majority (80 patients, 92%) died of incurable cancer; among which 53% did not receive any systemic anti-cancer therapy (SAT) and 43% received SAT with palliative intent. ⋯ During the last admission, 54% of patients were admitted through emergency room, 50% stayed >14 days and 14% died in intensive care unit or emergency room. The results demonstrate that palliative care is a realistic treatment for the majority of patients in our setting and that a significant proportion of these patients receive aggressive care at the end-of-life. There is a need to establish an integrative palliative care program to improve the quality-of-life of dying cancer patients in our region and to minimize the aggressiveness of end-of-life care.
-
Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Feb 2013
Outcomes of critically ill gynecological cancer patients admitted to intensive care unit.
To assess the characteristics of critically ill patients with gynecological cancer, and to evaluate their prognosis. ⋯ The independent prognostic factors for hospital mortality were the need for vasopressors and the APACHE II score.