ArticlePloS one2021
Comparison of characteristics and management of emergency department presentations between patients with met and unmet palliative care needs.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Defining and measuring unmet palliative care needs among people with life-limiting illness: A scoping review of international evidence.Palliative medicine · 2026Article
- Nurses' Perspectives on Unmet Social, Psychological, and Spiritual Needs of Palliative Patients in Croatia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2026Article
- Prevalence of patients with unmet palliative care needs in a University Emergency Department in Germany - a cross-sectional screening study.BMC palliative care · 2025Article
- Benefits of Emergency Department-Initiated Goals of Care Conversations and Palliative Care Consultations Among Older Adults with Chronic or Serious Life-Limiting Illnesses.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2025Article
- Associations Between Symptom Complexity and Acute Care Utilization Among Adult Advanced Cancer Patients Followed by a Palliative Care Service.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Observational
- Using the P-CaRES Tool to Identify Palliative Care Needs in Patients with Life-Limiting Diseases: An Analysis of Internal Medicine Admissions.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Validation of the Palliative Care and Rapid Emergency Screening (P-CaRES) Tool in Germany.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Successful posthospitalisation oncology workflow implementing LACE+ score to stratify and reduce readmissions within a safety-net hospital.BMJ open quality · 2025Article
- Developing a novel integrated geriatric palliative care consultation program for the emergency department.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2022Article
- A study of the factors associated with emergency department visits in advanced cancer patients receiving palliative care.BMC palliative care · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThis study examined emergency department (ED) presentations of patients with end of life (EOL) conditions and patients having met and unmet palliative care needs were compared.
methodsPresentations for EOL conditions were prospectively identified and screened for palliative care needs. Descriptive data were reported as proportions, means or medians. Bi-variable analysis for dichotomous and continuous variables were performed by chi-squared and T-tests (p≤0.01), respectively. A multivariable logistic regression model identified factors associated with having unmet palliative needs and reported adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).
resultsOverall, 663 presentations for EOL conditions were identified; 518 (78%) involved patients with unmet palliative care needs. Presentations by patients with unmet palliative needs were more likely to involve consultations (80% vs. 67%, p = 0.001) and result in hospitalization (69% vs. 51%, p<0.001) compared to patients whose palliative needs were met. Patients with unmet palliative care needs were more likely to have previous ED visits (73% unmet vs. 48% met; p<0.001). While medication, procedures, investigations and imaging ordering were high across all patients with EOL conditions, there were no significant differences between the groups. Consultations with palliative specialists in the ED (6% unmet vs. 1% met) and following discharge (29% unmet vs. 18% met) were similarly uncommon. Patients having two or more EOL conditions (aOR = 2.41; 95% CI: 1.16, 5.00), requiring hospitalization (aOR = 1.93; 95% CI: 1.30, 2.87), and dying during the ED visit (aOR = 2.15; 95% CI: 1.02, 4.53) were strongly associated with having unmet palliative care needs.
conclusionsMost ED presentations for EOL conditions were made by patients with unmet palliative care needs, who were significantly more likely to require consultation, hospitalization, and to die. Referrals to palliative care services during and after the ED visit were infrequent, indicating important opportunities to promote these services.
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