Evolution of Complexity of Palliative Care Needs and Patient Profiles According to the PALCOM Scale (Part Two): Pooled Analysis of the Cohorts for the Development and Validation of the PALCOM Scale in Advanced Cancer Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Identifying the complexity of palliative care needs is a key aspect of referral to specialized multidisciplinary early palliative care (EPC) teams. The PALCOM scale is an instrument consisting of five multidimensional assessment domains developed in 2018 and validated in 2023 to identify the level of complexity in patients with advanced cancer. (1) Objectives: The main objective of this study was to determine the degree of instability (likelihood of level change or death), health resource consumption and the survival of patients according to the level of palliative complexity assigned at the baseline visit during a 6-month follow-up. (2) Method: An observational, prospective, multicenter study was conducted using pooled data from the development and validation cohort of the PALCOM scale. The main outcome variables were as follows: (a) instability ratio (IR), defined as the probability of level change or death; (b) emergency department visits; (c) days of hospitalization; (d) hospital death; (e) survival. All the variables were analyzed monthly according to the level of complexity assigned at the baseline visit. (3) Results: A total of 607 patients with advanced cancer were enrolled. According to the PALCOM scale, 20% of patients were classified as low complexity, 50% as medium and 30% as high complexity. The overall IR was 45% in the low complexity group, 68% in the medium complexity group and 78% in the high complexity group (p < 0.001). No significant differences in mean monthly emergency department visits (0.2 visits/ patient/month) were observed between the different levels of complexity. The mean number of days spent in hospital per month was 1.5 in the low complexity group, 1.8 in the medium complexity group and 3.2 in the high complexity group (p < 0.001). The likelihood of in-hospital death was significantly higher in the high complexity group (29%) compared to the medium (16%) and low (8%) complexity groups (p < 0.001). Six-month survival was significantly lower in the high complexity group (24%) compared to the medium (37%) and low (57%) complexity groups (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: According to the PALCOM scale, more complex cases are associated with greater instability and use of hospital resources and lower survival. The data also confirm that the PALCOM scale is a consistent and useful tool for describing complexity profiles, targeting referrals to the EPC and managing the intensity of shared care.

Characterisation and Outcomes of Patients with Solid Organ Malignancies Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit: Mortality and Impact on Functional Status and Oncological Treatment.

BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing number of ICU admissions among patients with solid tumours, there is a lack of tools with which to identify patients who may benefit from critical support. We aim to characterize the clinical profile and outcomes of patients with solid malignancies admitted to the ICU. METHODS: Retrospective observational study of patients with cancer non-electively admitted to the ICU of the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona (Spain) between January 2019 and December 2019. Data regarding patient and neoplasm characteristics, ICU admission features and outcomes were collected from medical records. RESULTS: 97 ICU admissions of 84 patients were analysed. Lung cancer (22.6%) was the most frequent neoplasm. Most of the patients had metastatic disease (79.5%) and were receiving oncological treatment (75%). The main reason for ICU admission was respiratory failure (38%). Intra-ICU and in-hospital mortality rates were 9.4% and 24%, respectively. Mortality rates at 1, 3 and 6 months were 19.6%, 36.1% and 53.6%. Liver metastasis, gastrointestinal cancer, hypoalbuminemia, elevated basal C-reactive protein, ECOG-PS greater than 2 at ICU admission, admission from ward and an APACHE II score over 14 were related to higher mortality. Functional status was severely affected at discharge, and oncological treatment was definitively discontinued in 40% of the patients. CONCLUSION: Medium-term mortality and functional deterioration of patients with solid cancers non-electively admitted to the ICU are high. Surrogate markers of cachexia, liver metastasis and poor ECOG-PS at ICU admission are risk factors for mortality.

Comparison of inferior vena cava filter use and outcomes between cancer and non-cancer patients in a tertiary hospital.

BACKGROUND: While accepted indications for the use of inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) in patients with a venous thromboembolism (VTE) have remained stable, their use continues to be frequent. Retrieval rates are still low, being particularly notable in the population with cancer. This study aims to review the rate of adherence to guidelines recommendation and to compare retrieval rates and complications in both cancer and non-cancer patients. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed including 185 patients in whom an IVCF was placed in Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. Baseline characteristics, clinical outcomes, and IVCF-related outcomes were analyzed. A strongly recommended indication (SRI) was considered if it was included in all the revised clinical guidelines and non-strongly if it was included in only some. RESULTS: Overall, 47 % of the patients had a SRI, without differences between groups. IVCF placement after 29 days from the VTE event was more frequent in the cancer group (46.1 vs. 17.7 %). Patients with cancer (48.1 % of the cohort) were older, with higher co-morbidity and bleeding risk. Anticoagulation resumption (75.3 % vs. 92.7 %) and IVCF retrieval (50.6 % vs. 66.7 %) were significantly less frequent in cancer patients. No significant differences were found regarding IVCF-related complications, hemorrhagic events and VTE recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: SRI of IVCF placement was found in less than half of the patients. Cancer patients had higher rates of IVCF placement without indication and lower anticoagulation resumption and IVCF retrieval ratios, despite complications were similar in both groups.

Validation Study of the PALCOM Scale of Complexity of Palliative Care Needs: A Cohort Study in Advanced Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: In a patient-centred model of care, referral to early palliative care (EPC) depends on both the prognosis and the complexity of care needs. The PALCOM scale is a 5-domain multidimensional assessment tool developed to identify the level of complexity of palliative care needs of cancer patients. The aim of this study was to validate the PALCOM scale. PATIENT AND METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of cancer patients to compare the PALCOM scale and expert empirical assessment (EA) of the complexity of palliative care needs. The EA had to categorise patients according to their complexity, considering that medium to high levels required priority attention from specialist EPC teams, while those with low levels could be managed by non-specialist teams. Systematically collected multidimensional variables were recorded in an electronic report form and stratified by level of complexity and rating system (PALCOM scale versus EA). The correlation rank (Kendall's tau test) and accuracy test (F1-score) between the two rating systems were analysed. ROC curve analysis was used to determine the predictive power of the PALCOM scale. RESULTS: A total of 283 advanced cancer patients were included. There were no significant differences in the frequency of the levels of complexity between the EA and the PALCOM scale (low 22.3-23.7%; medium 57.2-59.0%; high 20.5-17.3%). The prevalence of high symptom burden, severe pain, functional impairment, socio-familial risk, existential/spiritual problems, 6-month mortality and in-hospital death was significantly higher (p < 0.001) at the high complexity levels in both scoring systems. Comparative analysis showed a high correlation rank and accuracy between the two scoring systems (Kendall's tau test 0.81, F1 score 0.84). The predictive ability of the PALCOM scale was confirmed by an area under the curve in the ROC analysis of 0.907 for high and 0.902 for low complexity. CONCLUSIONS: In a patient-centred care model, the identification of complexity is a key point to appropriate referral and management of shared care with EPC teams. The PALCOM scale is a high precision tool for determining the level of complexity of palliative care needs.

Inferior Vena Cava Filters: Adherence to Clinical Practice Guidelines Recommendations, Retrieval Rates, and Filter Complications in a Tertiary Hospital.

The present study evaluated the adherence to guideline recommendations regarding the indication for inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) placement, retrieval rates, complications, thrombotic recurrences, and mortality. Patients in whom an IVCF was placed between 2015 and 2020 in a tertiary hospital were retrospectively included. We considered absolute indication of IVCF placement if all the guidelines evaluated agreed on the indication, relative indication if only some guidelines recommended it and without indication if none of the evaluated guidelines recommended it. From the 185 patients included; 47% had an absolute indication, 15% a relative indication, and 38% had no indication. Filter-associated complications and non-removal rates were 12.4% and 41%, respectively. Venous thromboembolism recurrence rate was 17.8%, being filter-associated complications (24.2 vs 9.8%, P = .02) and thrombosis of the inferior cava or iliac veins (12.1 vs 2.6%, P = .03) more frequent in this group. The mortality rate was 40%, with higher mortality risk in patients with co-existing cancer. Previous major bleeding, filter-associated complications, and mortality were associated with a major risk of non-removal. In conclusion, the adherence to guidelines regarding the indication of IVCF placement is still low and IVCF complications are not negligible. This fact is of special concern in the elderly, comorbid, and cancer patients.

Severe Immune-Related Adverse Events: A Case Series of Patients Needing Hospital Admission in a Spanish Oncology Referral Center and Review of the Literature.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have revolutionized the landscape of cancer treatment. Although several studies have shown that ICIs have a better safety profile than chemotherapy, some patients develop immune-related adverse events (irAEs), which require specialized and multidisciplinary management. Since ICI indications are rapidly increasing, it is crucial that clinicians involved in cancer care learn to identify irAEs and manage them properly. Here, we report a case series of 23 patients with severe irAEs requiring hospitalization over a period of 12 months and seize the opportunity to review and update different general features related to irAEs along with the management of the most frequent severe irAEs in our series.

Persistent Antiphospholipid Antibodies Are Not Associated With Worse Clinical Outcomes in a Prospective Cohort of Hospitalised Patients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Objective: Patients with COVID-19 presented with an elevated prevalence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) but the relationship with thrombosis is controversial. We analysed the persistence of aPL and their association with the clinical outcomes during hospitalisation in a cohort of COVID-19 patients. Patients and Methods: We conducted a prospective study including consecutive hospitalised patients with COVID-19 from Hospital Clínic of Barcelona between March 28th and April 22nd, 2020. Clinical outcomes during hospitalisation were thrombosis, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and severe ventilatory failure. We determined both criteria and non-criteria aPL. Of note, in those patients with a positive result in the first determination, a second sample separated by at least 12 weeks was drawn to test the persistence of aPL. Results: One hundred and fifty-eight patients (59.5% men) with a mean age of 61.4 ± 14.9 years old were included. Thrombosis was present in 28 (17.7%) patients, severe respiratory failure in 47 (30.5%), and 30 (18.9%) patients were admitted to ICU. Sixteen (28.6%) patients were positive for the criteria aPL at both determinations and only two (3.6%) of them suffered from thrombosis during hospitalisations (both had aCL IgG). However, they presented with low titers of aCL. Of note, aPL were not related to thrombosis, ICU admission or severe respiratory failure. Conclusion: Although aPL were prevalent in our cohort of hospitalised COVID-19 patients and they were persistent in half of tested patients, most determinations were at low titers and they were not related to worse clinical outcomes.