Palliative needs for heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Results of a multicenter observational registry.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) share a common organ failure trajectory marked by prognostic uncertainty, which is a barrier to appropriate provision of palliative care. We describe in a prospective cohort from specialist hospital services the epidemiology and late clinical course of these chronic diseases to trace criteria for transition to palliative care in the community. METHODS AND RESULTS: Seven centers enrolled 267 patients with advanced HF (n=174) or COPD (n=93) using common (multiple hospitalizations or severely impaired functional status or cachexia) and disease-specific (HF: systolic dysfunction, NYHA classes III-IV, end-organ hypoperfusion; COPD: very severe airflow obstruction, hypoxemia, hypercapnia, or long-term oxygen therapy) entry criteria. These patients represented 7.2% and 13% respectively of the overall HF and COPD population hospitalized during one year. They showed similar symptom burden, functional and quality of life impairment, recurrent hospitalizations, and 6-month mortality (39% and 37%, respectively). Organ failure progression was the cause of death in >75%. In-hospital overall stay during the previous year was the main mortality predictor in both. Disease-specific predictors included anemia, hyponatremia, no beta-blockers in HF; older age, hypercapnia in COPD. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with advanced HF/COPD represent almost 10% of subjects hospitalized yearly with a primary diagnosis of HF or COPD, have similarly impaired functional status, disabling symptoms and reduced survival. Overall days spent in-hospital during the previous year, a "red flag" in the late clinical course of both diseases, might be used as a simple, reliable screening tool for appropriate transition to palliative care in the community.

[Palliative care in heart failure]. / Le cure palliative nello scompenso cardiaco.

The natural history of heart failure (HF) is characterized by a progressive decline in functional capacity, punctuated by acute heart destabilization episodes which contribute to a spiraling worsening course. Advanced HF affects one in four patients who are referred to the hospital for the syndrome and has an estimated yearly incidence of 12 000 new cases in Italy. Life expectancy is very limited, and in general less than 50% of advanced HF patients are alive at 1-2 years. Advanced HF patients show a high, not modifiable mortality, severe symptoms and impaired quality of life. Treatment goals should focus on the improvement of symptoms and quality of life, the aims of palliative care. Palliative consultations during hospital admissions reduce the number of interventions and procedures in the last stages of life, the length of stay in the intensive care unit and general ward. HF patients who receive home palliative care are more likely to die at home, in accordance with their expressed will. The research project RF-MAR-2007-67955 aims to analyze, through a prospective observational registry, the palliative care needs of HF patients in Italy, to answer the gaps in knowledge on symptom changes during the terminal stages of the disease, on the quality of communication between healthcare professionals, patients and their families and caregivers' needs.