Palliative care in Hospitalized Middle-Aged and Older Adults With COVID-19.

CONTEXT: As COVID-19 overwhelms health systems worldwide, palliative care strategies may ensure rational use of resources while safeguarding patient comfort and dignity. OBJECTIVE: To describe palliative care practices in hospitalized middle-aged and older adults in two of the largest COVID-19 treatment centers in Sao Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: Retrospective cohort. Eligible patients were those aged 50 years or older hospitalized between March and May 2020 with a laboratory confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Palliative care implementation was defined as present if medical notes indicated a decision to limit escalation of life support measures, or when opioids or sedatives were prescribed for palliative management of symptoms. RESULTS: We included 1162 participants (57% male, median 65 years). Overall, 21% were frail and 54% were treated in intensive care units, but only 17% received palliative care. Stepwise logistic regression demonstrated that age ≥80 years, dementia, history of stroke or cancer, frailty, having a PaO2/FiO2<200 or a C-reactive protein ≥150mg/dL at admission predicted palliative care implementation. Patients placed under palliative care stayed longer (13 vs.11 days) and were more likely to die in hospital (86 vs.27%). They also spent more days in ICU and received vasoactive drugs, hemodialysis, and invasive ventilation more frequently. CONCLUSIONS: One in five middle-aged and older adults hospitalized with COVID-19 received palliative care in our cohort. Patients who were very old, multimorbid, frail, and had severe COVID-19 were more likely to receive palliative care. However, it was often delayed until advanced and invasive life support measures had already been implemented.

Thromboembolic findings in patients with heart failure at autopsy.

BACKGROUND: The risk of thromboembolic events is increased in patients with heart failure (HF); however, few studies have reported thromboembolic findings in HF patients who have undergone autopsy. METHODS AND RESULTS: We reviewed 1457 autopsies (January 2000/July 2006) and selected 595 patients with HF. We studied the occurrence of thromboembolic events in patients' autopsy reports. Mean age was 61.8±15.9 years; 376 (63.2%) were men and 219 (36.8%) women; left ventricular ejection fraction was 42.1±18.7%. HF etiologies were coronary artery disease in 235 (39.5%) patients, valvular disease in 121 (20.3%), and Chagas' disease in 81 (13.6%). The main cause of death was progressive HF in 253 (42.5%) patients, infections in 112 (18.8%), myocardial infarction in 86 (14.5%), and pulmonary embolism in 81 (13.6%). Altogether, 233 patients (39.2%) suffered 374 thromboembolic events. A thromboembolic event was considered the direct cause of death in 93 (24.9%) patients and related to death in 158 (42.2%). The most frequent thromboembolism was pulmonary embolism in 135 (36.1%) patients; in 81 events (60%), it was considered the cause of death. When we compared clinical characteristics of patients, sex (OR=1.511, CI 95% 1.066-2.143, P=.021) and Chagas disease (OR=2.362, CI 95% 1.424-3.918, P=.001) were independently associated with the occurrence of thromboembolisms. CONCLUSIONS: Thromboembolic events are frequent in patients with heart failure revealed at autopsy, and are frequently associated with the death process. Our findings warrant a high degree of suspicion for these occurrences, especially during the care of more susceptible populations, such as women and Chagas patients.

Diagnostic discrepancies in clinical practice: An autopsy study in patients with heart failure.

Autopsies are the gold standard for diagnostic accuracy; however, no recent study has analyzed autopsies in heart failure (HF).We reviewed 1241 autopsies (January 2000-May 2005) and selected 232 patients with HF. Clinical and autopsy diagnoses were analyzed and discrepancies categorized according to their importance regarding therapy and prognosis.Mean age was 63.3 ±â€Š15.9 years; 154 (66.4%) patients were male. The causes of death at autopsy were end-stage HF (40.9%), acute myocardial infarction (17.2%), infection (15.9), and pulmonary embolism 36 (15.5). Diagnostic discrepancies occurred in 191 (82.3%) cases; in 56 (24.1%), discrepancies were related to major diagnoses with potential influence on survival or treatment; pulmonary embolism was the cause of death for 24 (42.9%) of these patients. In 35 (15.1%), discrepancies were related to a major diagnosis with equivocal influence on survival or treatment; in 100 (43.1%), discrepancies did not influence survival or treatment. In multivariate analysis, age (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.008-1.052, P = 0.007) and presence of diabetes mellitus (OR: 0.359, 95% CI: 0.168-0.767, P = 0.008) influenced the occurrence discrepancies.Diagnostic discrepancies with a potential impact on prognosis are frequent in HF. These findings warrant reconsideration in diagnostic and therapeutic practices with HF patients.