Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34856953›Full record

ArticleBMC palliative care2021

Prevalence and characteristics of patients with heart failure needing palliative care.

Luisa Fernanda Arenas Ochoa, Valentina González-Jaramillo, Clara Saldarriaga, Mariantonia Lemos, Alicia Krikorian, John Jairo Vargas, Xavier Gómez-Batiste, Nathalia Gonzalez-Jaramillo, Steffen Eychmüller

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC palliative care, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
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, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

9 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.

Luisa Fernanda Arenas Ochoa *Pain and Palliative Care Group, School of Health Sciences, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín, Colombia.
Valentina González-Jaramillo *Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. valentina.gonzalez@ispm.unibe.ch.
Clara SaldarriagaDepartment of Cardiology, Clínica Cardio VID, Medellín, Colombia.
Mariantonia LemosDepartment of Psychology, School of Humanities, Universidad EAFIT, Medellín, Colombia.
Alicia KrikorianPain and Palliative Care Group, School of Health Sciences, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín, Colombia.
John Jairo VargasPain and Palliative Care Group, School of Health Sciences, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín, Colombia.
Xavier Gómez-BatisteChair Qualy Palliative Care, Faculty Medicine, University of Vic/Central of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain.
Nathalia Gonzalez-Jaramillo *Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Steffen Eychmüller *University Center for Palliative Care, Inselspital University Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana · COInstitute of Social and Preventive Medicine · CHUniversidad de Antioquia · COUniversidad EAFIT · COUniversitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya · ESUniversity of Bern · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFew hospitals and heart failure (HF) clinics offer concurrent palliative care (PC) together with life-prolonging therapies. To know the prevalence of patients in HF clinics needing PC and useful tools to recognize them are the first steps to extending PC in those settings. However, it is still unknown whether tools commonly used to identify patients with HF needing PC can correctly distinguish them. Two systematic reviews found that the NECesidades PALiativas (NECPAL) tool was one of the two most commonly used tools to asses PC needs in HF patients. Therefore, we assessed 1) the prevalence of PC needs in HF clinics according to the NECPAL tool, and 2) the characteristics of the patients identified as having PC; mainly, their quality of life (QoL), symptom burden, and psychosocial problems.

methodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted at two HF clinics in Colombia. We assessed the prevalence of PC in the overall sample and in subgroups according to clinical and demographic variables. We assessed QoL, symptom burden, and psychosocial problems using the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) and the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS). We compared the results of these tools between patients identified as having PC needs (+NECPAL) and patients identified as not having PC needs (-NECPAL).

resultsAmong the 178 patients, 78 (44%) had PC needs. The prevalence of PC needs was twice as nigh in patients NYHA III/IV as in patients NYHA I/II and almost twice as high in patients older than 70 years as in patients younger than 70 years. Compared to -NECPAL patients, +NECPAL patients had worse QoL, more severe shortness of breath, tiredness, drowsiness, and pain, and more psychosocial problems.

conclusionThe prevalence of PC needs in outpatient HF clinics is high and is even higher in older patients and in patients at more advanced NYHA stages. Compared to patients identified as not having PC needs, patients identified as having PC needs have worse QoL, more severe symptoms, and greater psychosocial problems. Including a PC provider in the multidisciplinary team of HF clinics may help to assess and cover these needs.

Indexed as

Heart FailureQuality of LifeAgedCross-Sectional StudiesHumansPalliative CarePrevalenceHealth services needs and demandsHeart failureNeeds assessmentPalliative carePatient-centered carePrognosis

Identifiers

PMID34856953
PMCPMC8638101
OpenAlexW3215116288

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.