Increased number of deaths within 24 h of admission during a period of social restriction related to the COVID-19 pandemic: A retrospective service evaluation in a metropolitan palliative care unit.
Palliat Med
; 35(8): 1508-1513, 2021 09.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1280549
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
COVID-19 has led to implementation of wide-ranging social restriction measures with consequent impact on health care utilisation in many domains. There is little published data on the experience of palliative care services catering to a population with low case numbers of COVID-19.AIM:
This study aimed to consider the impact of COVID-19 on utilisation of inpatient palliative care in the context of low community transmission, and low numbers of cases in hospital.DESIGN:
A retrospective service evaluation examining differences in number of admissions, diagnoses, number of deaths and time from admission to death, across three discrete 8-week time periods spanning the early COVID-19 pandemic. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS:
All admissions (n = 194) to a metropolitan tertiary hospital inpatient palliative care unit in Melbourne during the study period.RESULTS:
An initial 16.9% fall in admissions was followed by a return to baseline admission numbers, with a 46.7% increase in number of deaths compared to baseline. The number of deaths within 24 h rose from 10.8% to 37.3% (p < 0.01). The number of patients with non-malignant diagnoses increased from 32.4% to 52%, and those with non-malignant diagnoses were more likely to die rapidly (p < 0.01). There were no patients with COVID-19 infection.CONCLUSION:
Increased numbers of deaths within 24 h of admission occurred on the palliative care unit despite low COVID-19 case numbers in the wider community, and in the setting of widespread social restriction measures. More research is needed examining the health-related consequences of such restrictions for individuals not infected with COVID-19.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pandemics
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Palliat Med
Journal subject:
Health Services
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
02692163211026518
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