ArticleBMJ open2013
Are emergency admissions in palliative cancer care always necessary? Results from a descriptive study.
Article in BMJ open, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Olanzapine for the prevention and treatment of cancer-related nausea and vomiting in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Content and quality of websites supporting self-management of chronic breathlessness in advanced illness: a systematic review.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2016Pooled it
- A palliative care rapid access clinic reduces emergency department visits: a retrospective single centre analysis.BMC palliative care · 2025Observational
- The power of partnership: Strategies for pan-Canadian spread and scale of paramedics providing palliative care.Healthcare management forum · 2025Article
- Mixed methods scoping review of patients' experiences of urgent and emergency cancer care.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Emergency department use and responsiveness to the palliative care needs of patients with dementia at the end of life: A scoping review.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Article
- Effects of early palliative care intervention on medical resource use among end-of-life patients.International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care · 2025Article
- Brain Metastasis in the Emergency Department: Epidemiology, Presentation, Investigations, and Management.Cancers · 2024Review
- Cost consequences of unscheduled emergency admissions in cancer patients in the last year of life.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Article
- Free-text analysis of general practice out-of-hours (GPOOH) use by people with advanced cancer: an analysis of coded and uncoded free-text data.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2023Article
- Article
- Patients requiring palliative care attending a regional hospital emergency centre in South Africa: A descriptive study.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2022Article
- Admission to the Emergency Department by Patients Being Followed up for Palliative Care Consultations.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Article
- Hospitalisations of patients with cancer in the last stage of life. Reason to improve advance care planning?European journal of cancer care · 2022Article
- Referral Patterns of Outpatient Palliative Care among the Head and Neck Cancer Population.International archives of otorhinolaryngology · 2022Article
- Community prescribing trends and prevalence in the last year of life, for people who die from cancer.BMC palliative care · 2022Article
- Observation unit use among patients with cancer following emergency department visits: Results of a multicenter prospective cohort from CONCERN.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2022Article
- Epidemiology of Pain Among Patients with Solid Metastatic Cancer During the Last Year of Life.Journal of pain research · 2022Article
- Emergency department visits and inpatient hospitalizations among older patients with brain metastases: a dual population- and institution-level analysis.Neuro-oncology practice · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesPatients with advanced cancer are often admitted to hospital as emergency cases. This may not always be medically indicated. Study objectives were to register the reasons for the emergency admissions, to examine interventions performed during hospitalisation and self-reported symptom intensity at admission and discharge, and to assess patients' opinions about the admission.
designThis was a descriptive before-and-after study. Participating patients completed the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) twice, upon hospital admission and prior to discharge. All patients underwent a structured interview assessing their opinion about the emergency admission. Medical data were obtained from the hospital records.
settingThe study was performed in two Norwegian acute care secondary hospitals with urban catchment areas.
participants44 patients with cancer (men 27 and women 17; mean age 69.2, SD 9.2) representing 50 emergency admissions were included.
resultsMedian length of stay was 7 days (95% CI 7.4 to 11.4). Median survival was 50 days (95% CI 51 to 115). 90% were admitted from home, and 46% had been hospitalised less than 1 month earlier. Lung and gastrointestinal symptoms and pain were the most frequent reasons for admissions. Mean pain scores on ESAS were reduced by 50% from admission to discharge (p<0.01). Simple interventions such as hydration, bladder catheterisation and oxygen therapy were most frequent. Nearly one-third would have preferred treatment at another site, provided that the quality of care was similar. Home visits by the family doctor and specialised care teams were perceived by patients as important to prevent hospitalisation.
conclusionsIn most emergency admissions, relatively simple medical interventions are necessary. Specialised care teams with palliative care physicians, easier access to the family doctor and better lines of cooperation between hospitals and the primary care sector may make it possible to perform more of these procedures at home, thereby reducing the need for emergency admissions.
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