ArticleBMC cancer2017
Predictors of high healthcare costs in elderly patients with liver cancer in end-of-life: a longitudinal population-based study.
Article in BMC cancer, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Potentially burdensome end-of-life care for colorectal cancer decedents: A retrospective cohort study.Palliative & supportive care · 2026Article
- Palliative Care Admission at End-of-Life in Liver Cancer: A 10 Year Population-Based Study of 3565 Deaths in Australia.Cancer medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Factors Associated with Hospitalized Community-Acquired Pneumonia among Elderly Patients Receiving Home-Based Care.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Potentially burdensome care at the end-of-life for cancer decedents: a retrospective population-wide study.BMC palliative care · 2024Article
- Using Intervention Mapping to Develop a Novel Pain Self-Management Intervention for People with Cirrhosis.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2022Article
- Developing Priorities for Palliative Care Research in Advanced Liver Disease: A Multidisciplinary Approach.Hepatology communications · 2021Review
- Observational
- Economic Implications of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Surveillance and Treatment: A Guide for Clinicians.PharmacoEconomics · 2020Review
- Geographical disparities in treatment and health care costs for end-of-life cancer patients in China: a retrospective study.BMC cancer · 2019Article
- CompoundExperimental and therapeutic medicine · 2018Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStudies have indicated a pervasive pattern of decreasing healthcare costs during elderly patients' last year of life. The aim of this study was to explore the predictors of high healthcare costs (HC) in elderly liver cancer patients in Taiwan during their last month of life (LML).
methodsCosts of hospitalization, outpatient visits, aggressiveness of care, and associated costs for elderly (age ≥ 65 y) patients with liver cancer in the LML were analyzed using a national insurance database. An HC was defined as being greater than the 90th percentile (US $5093) in the LML, amounting to 38.95% of total healthcare costs.
resultsWe enrolled 2121 subjects who died during 1997-2011. Mean healthcare costs per person in their LML were US $8042 ± 3477 in the HC group and US $1407 ± 1464 in the non-HC group (p < 0.001). For patients receiving aggressive end-of-life (EOL) cancer care (e.g. intensive care, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, anticancer treatment, and a high number of admission days), comorbidities of chronic kidney disease, esophageal bleeding, and receiving opioids in the LML, were significantly independent positive predictors of HCs; but admission times, comorbidities of ascites, and hypertension were negative predictors.
conclusionThese findings could inform healthcare providers by avoiding aggressive treatments during EOL for elderly patients with liver cancer and to save on healthcare costs. Shorter admission days and more admission times in the last month of life could decrease healthcare costs.
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