Key result
Viewing a palliative care educational module increased palliative care utilization but did not significantly impact short-term mortality, readmissions, or ICU transfers.
Why the study?
Heart failure guidelines recommend palliative care to improve symptoms and quality of life, but referrals are often delayed.
Does a palliative care educational module increase palliative care consults and reduce readmissions, mortality, and ICU transfers in patients admitted with heart failure?
Observational (n=60)
No
Does a palliative care educational module increase palliative care consults and reduce readmissions, mortality, and ICU transfers in patients admitted with heart failure?
A palliative care educational module for hospitalized heart failure patients increased palliative care utilization but did not significantly impact short-term clinical outcomes.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May increase palliative care consults in hospitalized HF; hypothesis-generating for outcome benefits, needing RCTs.
BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) impacts 6.2 million American adults. With no cure, therapies aim to prevent progression and manage symptoms. Inclusion of palliative care (PC) helps improve symptoms and quality of life. Heart failure guidelines recommend the inclusion of PC in HF therapy, but referrals are often delayed. OBJECTIVE: Introduce PC to patients with HF and examine the impact on PC consults, readmission, mortality, and intensive care unit (ICU) transfers. METHODS: Patients (n = 60) admitted with HF to an academic hospital were asked to view a PC educational module. A number of PC consults, re-admissions, mortality, and transfers to the ICU were compared among participants and those who declined. There was no statistically significant difference in readmissions, mortality, or ICU transfers between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Palliative care education increases the likelihood of PC utilization but in this short-term project was not found to statistically impact mortality, re-admissions, or transfers to higher levels of care.
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Thompson et al. (2020) conducted an observational in Heart failure (n=60). Palliative care educational module vs. Patients who declined to view the module was evaluated on Palliative care consults, readmissions, mortality, and intensive care unit transfers. Viewing a palliative care educational module increased palliative care utilization but did not significantly impact short-term mortality, readmissions, or ICU transfers.
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