Scientific publications
Long-Term Outcome of Critically Ill Advanced Cancer Patients Managed in an Intermediate Care Unit. Scientific Publication
Nerea Fernández Ros 1 , Félix Alegre 1 , Javier Rodríguez Rodriguez 2 , Manuel F Landecho 1 3 , Patricia Sunsundegui 1 , Alfonso Gúrpide 2 , Ramón Lecumberri 4 , Eva Sanz 5 , Nicolás García 1 3 , Jorge Quiroga 1 3 6 , Juan Felipe Lucena 1
Background: To analyze the long-term outcomes for advanced cancer patients admitted to an intermediate care unit (ImCU), an analysis of a do not resuscitate orders (DNR) subgroup was made.
Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted from 2006 to January 2019 in a single academic medical center of cancer patients with stage IV disease who suffered acute severe complications. The Simplified Acute Physiology Score 3 (SAPS 3) was used as a prognostic and severity score. In-hospital mortality, 30-day mortality and survival after hospital discharge were calculated.
Results: Two hundred and forty patients with stage IV cancer who attended at an ImCU were included. In total, 47.5% of the cohort had DNR orders. The two most frequent reasons for admission were sepsis (32.1%) and acute respiratory failure (excluding sepsis) (38.7%). Mortality in the ImCU was 10.8%. The mean predicted in-hospital mortality according to SAPS 3 was 51.9%. The observed in-hospital mortality was 37.5% (standard mortality ratio of 0.72). Patients discharged from hospital had a median survival of 81 (30.75-391.25) days (patients with DNR orders 46 days (19.5-92.25), patients without DNR orders 162 days (39.5-632)). The observed mortality was higher in patients with DNR orders: 52.6% vs. 23.8%, p 0 < 0.001. By multivariate logistic regression, a worse ECOG performance status (3-4 vs. 0-2), a higher SAPS 3 Score and DNR orders were associated with a higher in-hospital mortality. By multivariate analysis, non-invasive mechanical ventilation, higher bilirubin levels and DNR orders were significantly associated with 30-day mortality.
Conclusion: For patients with advanced cancer disease, even those with DNR orders, who suffer from acute complications or require continuous monitoring, an ImCU-centered multidisciplinary management shows encouraging results in terms of observed-to-expected mortality ratios.
CITATION J Clin Med. 2022 Jun 16;11(12):3472. doi: 10.3390/jcm11123472
Our authors
