Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Jul 2020
Review"Triggers" for early palliative care referral in patients with cancer: a review of urgent unplanned admissions and outcomes.
Benefits of early palliative referral in oncology are well documented. Palliative care referral "triggers" may help identify patients for referral. Many triggers have been proposed, but are not commonly used. This study reviewed the timing of palliative care involvement for patients in a tertiary referral oncology hospital, and whether the use of a trigger tool prior to admission would have facilitated earlier referral. ⋯ In this patient cohort, a palliative referral trigger tool may have proactively identified most patients prior to their terminal admission. Prospective testing of trigger tools in oncology populations is warranted.