Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25801446›Full record

ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2015

Evaluating the Liverpool Care Pathway for care of the terminally ill in rural Australia.

Anne M Wilkinson, Claire E Johnson, Helen Walker, Valerie Colgan, Hayley Arnet, Tapan Rai

Abstract readEvaluation StudyMulticenter Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Anne M WilkinsonCentre for Cancer and Palliative Care Research, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Blvd., Bldg. 21.460, Joondalup, Western Australia, 6027, Australia. anne.wilkinson@ecu.edu.au.
Claire E JohnsonSchool of Surgery, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Helen WalkerDepartment of Health, Palliative Care, WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Valerie ColganDepartment of Health, Palliative Care, WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Hayley ArnetCentre for Cancer and Palliative Care Research, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Blvd., Bldg. 21.460, Joondalup, Western Australia, 6027, Australia.
Tapan RaiSchool of Mathematical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThis study evaluates a pilot implementation of the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP), a clinical tool used to guide the care of dying patients in the last days of life, on the end-of-life care for dying patients in three regions in rural Australia.

methodsThe LCP was implemented at 13 participating sites: nine hospitals (general wards), one community-based palliative care service, and three in-hospital palliative care units. To evaluate the implementation of the LCP, 415 eligible patient records were examined: 223 pre-implementation and 192 post-implementation (116 on the LCP and 76 receiving usual care). The primary analysis compared all patients pre-implementation of the LCP versus all patients post-implementation.

resultsIncreases were found post-implementation for communication with other health professionals and with patients or family (pre-69 %, post-87 %; p ≤ 0.000), use of palliative medications (pre-87 %, post-98 %; p ≤ 0.000) and frequency of symptom assessments (pre-66 %, post-82 %; p ≤ 0.000). Fewer blood and radiological investigations were conducted and venous access devices used in the post-implementation groups than in the pre-implementation period.

conclusionsThis study suggests that when rigorously implemented, the LCP improves important components of end-of-life care for dying patients and their families.

Indexed as

Critical PathwaysTerminally IllAgedAustraliaCommunicationFemaleHospital UnitsHumansMalePalliative CarePhysician-Patient RelationsPilot ProjectsTerminal CareCritical pathwaysPalliative careQuality improvementQuality of health careTerminal care

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.