Hospice and Palliative Care for Undergraduate Nursing Education: Results from a Delphi Study.

There is an urgent need to strengthen the nursing workforce through hospice and palliative care education to support patients living with serious illness. The aim of this study was to identify skills/topics in hospice and palliative care for undergraduate nursing education. We conducted a two-round online Delphi Survey of hospice and palliative care leaders and clinicians in New York State between June and August 2022. Participants were asked to list and rate the importance of clinical skills and topics in hospice and palliative care for undergraduate nursing education. Twenty-eight participants completed Round One and 21 participants completed Round Two. Topics ranked as extremely important were goals of care, patient/family education, communication skills, advance directives, medication management, pain management, and symptom management. Our findings highlight the importance of including the perspective of healthcare systems leaders and clinicians in discussions about training of future nurses to meet the needs of patients with serious illness and their families.

Academic-Clinical Collaborations to Build Undergraduate Nursing Education in Hospice and Palliative Care.

With the current shortage of hospice/palliative care (HPC) workforce, there is an urgent need to train a generation of nurses with clinical competency in HPC to ensure equitable access and optimal care for patients living with serious illness or at the end of life. The recent demand for HPC teaching in nursing education calls for innovation in establishing clinical placements. Palliative care nursing experts in New York State were surveyed between June and August 2022 about facilitators of academic-clinical partnerships between nursing schools and clinical settings. Inductive content analysis of open-ended responses revealed six major interconnected themes: (a) Increase Awareness of HPC in the Nursing Program, (b) Build a Relationship With Administrators, (c) Look Beyond Acute Care Partnerships, (d) Offer Incentives, (e) Develop Direct Care Experiential Opportunities, and (f) Develop Non-Direct Care Experiential Opportunities. Findings provide rich insights into key considerations for successful collaboration between nursing schools and clinical sites. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 49(6), 13-18.].

Standardized Criteria for Palliative Care Consultation on a Solid Tumor Oncology Service Reduces Downstream Health Care Use.

PURPOSE: Hospitalized patients with advanced cancer have a high symptom burden and need for support. Integration of palliative care (PC) improves symptom control and decreases unwanted health care use, yet many patients are never offered these services. In 2016, ASCO called for incorporation of PC into oncologic care for all patients with metastatic cancer. To improve the quality of cancer care, we developed standardized criteria, or triggers, for PC consultation on the inpatient solid tumor service. METHODS: Patients were eligible for this prospective cohort study if they met at least one of the following eligibility criteria: had an advanced solid tumor; prior hospitalization within 30 days; hospitalization > 7 days; and active symptoms. During the intervention, patients who met the criteria received automatic PC consultation. RESULTS: When we compared patients in the intervention group with control subjects, there were increases in PC consultations (19 of 48 [39%] to 52 of 65 [80%]; P ≤ .001) and hospice referrals (seven of 48 [14%] to 17 of 65 [26%]; P = .03), and there were declines in 30-day readmission rates (17 of 48 [35%] to 13 of 65 [18%]; P = .04) and receipt of chemotherapy after discharge (21 of 48 [44%] to 12 of 65 [18%]; P = .03). There was an overall increase in support measures following discharge ( P = .004). Length of stay was unaffected. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that among patients with advanced cancer admitted to an inpatient oncology service, the standardized use of triggers for PC consultation is associated with substantial impact on 30-day readmission rates, chemotherapy following discharge, hospice referrals, and use of support services following discharge. Expansion of this model to other hospitals and health systems should improve the value of cancer care.

State of Research on Palliative Care in Heart Failure as Evidenced by Published Literature, Conference Proceedings, and NIH Funding.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) is the most common diagnosis in hospitalized patients older than 65 years of age. Although these patients often need specialist-directed palliative care, <10% ever receive these services. This may be due to a lack of evidence examining the benefits of palliative care for these patients. To understand the current state of research on the interface of palliative care and HF, we examined trends in publications, presentations at national meetings, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. METHODS: Using key terms, we identified items about palliative care and HF in the following sources: (1) the tables of contents of nine leading cardiology journals, (2) abstracts of conference proceedings from four cardiology societies, and (3) all NIH grants from 2009 to 2013. RESULTS: Of the journals reviewed, fewer than 1% of their publications related to palliative care. Less than 2% of HF-related sessions in conference proceedings mentioned palliative care. Of the NIH's $45 billion directed to HF research, only $14 million (0.03%) was spent on palliative care research. CONCLUSIONS: Despite calls for improving palliative care for patients with advanced HF, a lack of sufficient attention persists in research abstracts, concurrent sessions at national meetings, and NIH funding to increase the evidence base. Without these improvements, the ability to deliver high-quality specialist palliative care to patients with HF and their families will remain severely limited.

Developing triggers for the surgical intensive care unit for palliative care integration.

PURPOSE: Despite the growing acceptance of palliative care as a component of high-quality care for patients with serious illness, it remains underutilized in the surgical critical care setting. This article provides insight into a model for palliative care integration into the surgical intensive care unit (SICU), using triggers. METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort study after the implementation of a new set of palliative care triggers in the SICU of an 1170-bed tertiary medical center over the course of 9 months. We aimed to determine the ability of these triggers to identify patients who would benefit from palliative care consultation. RESULTS: There were 517 SICU admissions during the period of interest. Of this cohort, patients who had not yet been discharged at the time of analysis were excluded (n=25), and the remaining underwent analysis (n=492). Factors significantly associated with hospital death or hospice discharge were repeat SICU admission, metastatic/advanced cancer, SICU physician referral, and the matching of 2 or more secondary criteria. CONCLUSIONS: A series of triggers can help identify patients who may benefit from palliative care consultation. This approach can be used in intensive care settings to facilitate palliative care integration.

Evidence for Neurotoxicity Due to Morphine or Hydromorphone Use in Renal Impairment: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Opioids are the mainstay of pain control for patients with chronic pain. Often, opioids with reported active metabolites, such as morphine and hydromorphone, are thought to increase the risk of neurotoxicity in renal impairment. OBJECTIVES: To identify and assess the quality of evidence for neurotoxic effects in patients with renal impairment receiving morphine or hydromorphone. METHODS: Systematic searches were conducted of the following databases from inception to December 2015: MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, in addition to hand-searching relevant review articles' citations. Studies were included if they reported neurotoxic effects of either morphine or hydromorphone for chronic or malignant pain in patients with renal impairment. Review articles and case reports were excluded. Narrative review was undertaken. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach was used to assess study quality. RESULTS: Six original articles, three prospective and three retrospective studies were identified and assessed. No relevant randomized clinical trials were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Although morphine and hydromorphone use may be associated with neurotoxic effects in patients with renal impairment, current evidence consists of very low-quality studies with conflicting findings. Clinicians may consider using either morphine or hydromorphone in mild-to-moderate renal impairment, while closely monitoring for neurotoxic effects, particularly when used in high doses and for extended duration.

Impact of Inpatient Palliative Care on Treatment Intensity for Patients with Serious Illness.

BACKGROUND: Palliative care is associated with decreased treatment intensity and improved quality for individual patients at the end of life, but little is known about how hospital-wide outcomes are affected by the diffusion of palliative care principles. OBJECTIVE: We examined the relationship between presence of palliative care programs and hospitals' average treatment intensity, as indicated by mean intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS) and days under Medicare hospice coverage, in the last six months of life among Medicare beneficiaries aged 67 and over with serious chronic illness. METHODS: We linked hospital-level data from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey, National Palliative Care Registry, and Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care to examine hospital-level treatment intensity for chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries who died in 2010. We used propensity score-adjusted linear regression to estimate the relationship between palliative care programs and hospitals' mean ICU LOS and hospice length of enrollment. RESULTS: Among 974 hospitals meeting inclusion criteria, we compared 295 hospitals with palliative care programs to 679 hospitals without. Hospitals with palliative care programs were higher volume, more likely to be teaching hospitals, and have oncology services and less likely to be located in rural areas. In propensity score weighted analyses, the mean ICU LOS in hospitals with palliative care was shorter by 0.23 days (standard error [SE] = 0.26), but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.76). In addition, the mean length of hospice enrollment among beneficiaries served by hospitals with palliative care was longer by 0.22 days (SE = 0.61), but also was not statistically significant (p = 0.76). CONCLUSIONS: Hospital-based palliative care programs alone may not be sufficient to impact ICU LOS or hospice length of enrollment for all chronically ill older adults admitted to hospitals. Future work should measure hospital-wide palliative care outcomes and effects of core palliative knowledge and skills provided by nonpalliative care specialists.

Update in Hospice and Palliative Care.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The goal of this update in hospice and palliative care is to summarize and critique research published between January 1 and December 31, 2014 that has a high potential for impact on clinical practice. DESIGN: To identify articles we hand searched 22 leading journals, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Fast Article Critical Summaries for Clinicians in Palliative Care. We also performed a PubMed keyword search using the terms "hospice" and "palliative care." MEASUREMENTS: We ranked candidate articles based on study quality, appeal to a breadth of palliative care clinicians, and potential for impact on clinical practice. RESULTS: In this manuscript we have summarized the findings of eight articles with the highest ratings and make recommendations for clinical practice based on the strength of the resulting evidence.

Update in hospital palliative care.

BACKGROUND: Seriously ill patients frequently receive care in hospitals, and palliative care is a core competency for hospitalists. We aimed to summarize and critique recent research that has the potential to impact the clinical practice of palliative care in the hospital. METHODS: We reviewed articles published between January 2012 and May 2013, identified through a hand-search of leading journals and PubMed. The authors collectively selected 9 articles based on their scientific rigor and relevance to hospital practice. We review their findings, strengths, and limitations and make recommendations for practice. RESULTS: Key findings include: indwelling pleural catheters and talc pleurodesis provide similar relief of dyspnea in patients with malignant pleural effusions; oxygen many not be needed to prevent dyspnea in many dying patients; docusate may not be needed in addition to sennosides to treat opioid-induced constipation; atropine is no more effective than placebo in treating respiratory rattles in dying patients; many older adult survivors of in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are alive up to 1 year after discharge; observing CPR may decrease family post-traumatic stress; surrogates of intensive care unit patients often interpret prognostic information optimistically; many patients with metastatic cancer feel that chemotherapy may cure their disease; viewing a goals-of-care video may decrease preference for CPR in patients being admitted to skilled nursing facilities. CONCLUSIONS: Recent research provides important insights into the effectiveness of medications and interventions for symptom management, outcomes of CPR for patients and families, and Journal of Hospital Medicine 2013;8:715-720. © 2013 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Managing pain in the elderly population: pearls and pitfalls.

While pain is a common symptom among older adults, it often is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Aging-related physiological changes, misperceptions about the use of pain medications by both patients and providers, and the lack of evidence-based clinical research on pain management in older adults are some of the reasons why pain in older adults is mismanaged. Using extrapolated evidence from pain research in younger patients, consensus statements, and best practice guidelines, this article summarizes and highlights areas of geriatric pain assessment and management that need special consideration. Some highlighted areas include 1) pain assessment in cognitively impaired patients; 2) medication choice and initiation doses; 3) duration of adequate medication trials; and 4) common medication side effects and suggested management.