Abstract

MARTINS, Olímpia. Identification of Patients Admitted in an Internal Medicine Ward with Palliative Care Needs. Medicina Interna [online]. 2020, vol.27, n.2, pp.24-31. ISSN 0872-671X.  https://doi.org/10.24950/O/265/19/2/2020.

Introduction: Palliative Medicine is a growing area in Portugal, but until now the existence of such care has not been done in a structured way. The ageing population and the increasing in chronic diseases prevalence in advanced stage, progressive and debilitating diseases, provides increasingly demand of health care services and hospitalization, implying increased spending if such patients are not identified as palliative. The present study aims to assess the need for Palliative Care (PC) in patients hospitalized in an internal medicine department. Methodology: A retrospective and observational study is presented, including patients aged ≥ 60 years, for a period of three months. It was applied the Palliative Care Screening Tool scale (PCST) in order to identify the potential candidates for Palliate Care (score ≥ 4). Results: Three hundred and twenty-eight patients were admitted, but only 288 (88%) were evaluated and 54% of them presented score ≥ 4 points at PCST scale, eligible for PC. In this group, the average age was 82 years; 54% women and 46% men. Admission median was 11 days. The main comorbidities were dementia in 47%, stroke in 45% and chronic kidney disease in 39%. The appreciation of psychological problems was not recognized. The mortality rate was 31% and only one patient was admitted in PC unit. Conclusion: This study testifies that PC patients are hospitalized in Internal Medicine Services, and it also shows the importance of specific training of internists as well as research in this particular area and the use of specific scales with the potential to identify these patients.

Keywords : Internal Medicine; Palliative Care; Surveys and Questionnaires.

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