Alexander K. Smith

Prognostic Indices for Older Adults: A Systematic Review

CONTEXT To better target services to those who may benefit, many guidelines recommend incorporating life expectancy into clinical decisions. OBJECTIVE To assess the quality and limitations of prognostic indices for mortality in older adults through systematic review. DATA SOURCES We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Google Scholar from their inception through November 2011. STUDY SELECTION We included indices if they were validated and predicted absolute risk of mortality in patients whose average age was 60 years or older. We excluded indices that estimated intensive care unit, disease-specific, or in-hospital mortality. DATA EXTRACTION For each prognostic index, we extracted data on clinical setting, potential for bias, generalizability, and accuracy. RESULTS We reviewed 21,593 titles to identify 16 indices that predict risk of mortality from 6 months to 5 years for older adults in a variety of clinical settings: the community (6 indices), nursing home (2 indices), and hospital (8 indices). At least 1 measure of transportability (the index is accurate in more than 1 population) was tested for all but 3 indices. By our measures, no study was free from potential bias. Although 13 indices had C statistics of 0.70 or greater, none of the indices had C statistics of 0.90 or greater. Only 2 indices were independently validated by investigators who were not involved in the indexs development. CONCLUSION We identified several indices for predicting overall mortality in different patient groups; future studies need to independently test their accuracy in heterogeneous populations and their ability to improve clinical outcomes before their widespread use can be recommended.

Advance Care Planning and the Quality of End‐of‐Life Care in Older Adults

To determine whether advance care planning influences quality of end‐of‐life care.

Racial and ethnic differences in end-of-life care in fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries with advanced cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To examine racial and ethnic variation in use of hospice and high‐intensity care in patients with terminal illness.

Palliative Care for Latino Patients and Their Families: Whenever We Prayed, She Wept

Latinos account for 15% of the US population, a proportion projected to grow to 30% by the year 2050. Although there is tremendous diversity within this community, commonalities of language, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors unite Latinos, making them more similar than different. Differences by national origin, although important, are attenuated when immigrants come to the United States, dominated by an English-language, Anglo-centric culture. For non-Latino and non-Spanish-speaking clinicians, communication barriers and cultural misunderstandings can impede the care of dying Latino patients and their families. We present the case of a young, pregnant, Spanish-speaking woman from Central America diagnosed with a fatal leukemia. As illustrated by this case, Latino immigrants face a number of external challenges to optimal end-of-life care: (1) geographic distance as well as political and economic realities often separate patients from their valued families; (2) undocumented immigrants are frequently uninsured and fear of deportation may create a barrier to accessing health services; (3) language and literacy barriers; and (4) concerns about discrimination. Other Latino issues that may be more pronounced in end-of-life settings include cultural themes and religious and spiritual influences. We recommend that professional interpreters must be used for discussions about goals of care with Spanish-speaking patients and families or when negotiating conflict between the patient, family, and the health care team. Concrete suggestions are provided for clinicians in working with interpreters, eliciting culturally based attitudes and beliefs, and implementing universal strategies for clear health communication.

Conducting High-Value Secondary Dataset Analysis: An Introductory Guide and Resources

ABSTRACTSecondary analyses of large datasets provide a mechanism for researchers to address high impact questions that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to study. This paper presents a guide to assist investigators interested in conducting secondary data analysis, including advice on the process of successful secondary data analysis as well as a brief summary of high-value datasets and online resources for researchers, including the SGIM dataset compendium (www.sgim.org/go/datasets). The same basic research principles that apply to primary data analysis apply to secondary data analysis, including the development of a clear and clinically relevant research question, study sample, appropriate measures, and a thoughtful analytic approach. A real-world case description illustrates key steps: (1) define your research topic and question; (2) select a dataset; (3) get to know your dataset; and (4) structure your analysis and presentation of findings in a way that is clinically meaningful. Secondary dataset analysis is a well-established methodology. Secondary analysis is particularly valuable for junior investigators, who have limited time and resources to demonstrate expertise and productivity.

Uncertainty — The Other Side of Prognosis

Prognoses will always have inherent uncertainty, which is often difficult for patients, their families, and even physicians to deal with. But there are ways that clinicians can communicate more effectively to help patients and families manage uncertainty.

Half Of Older Americans Seen In Emergency Department In Last Month Of Life; Most Admitted To Hospital, And Many Die There

Emergency department use contributes to high end-of-life costs and is potentially burdensome for patients and family members. We examined emergency department use in the last months of life for patients age sixty-five or older who died while enrolled in a longitudinal study of older adults in the period 1992-2006. We found that 51 percent of the 4,158 [corrected] decedents visited the emergency department in the last month of life, and 75 percent in the last six months of life. Repeat visits were common. A total of 77 percent of the patients seen in the emergency department in the last month of life were admitted to the hospital, and 68 percent of those who were admitted died there. In contrast, patients who enrolled in hospice at least one month before death rarely visited the emergency department in the last month of life. Policies that encourage the preparation of patients and families for death and early enrollment in hospice may prevent emergency department visits at the end of life.

Tools to Promote Shared Decision Making in Serious Illness: A Systematic Review

IMPORTANCE Serious illness impairs function and threatens survival. Patients facing serious illness value shared decision making, yet few decision aids address the needs of this population. OBJECTIVE To perform a systematic review of evidence about decision aids and other exportable tools that promote shared decision making in serious illness, thereby (1) identifying tools relevant to the treatment decisions of seriously ill patients and their caregivers, (2) evaluating the quality of evidence for these tools, and (3) summarizing their effect on outcomes and accessibility for clinicians. EVIDENCE REVIEW We searched PubMed, CINAHL, and PsychInfo from January 1, 1995, through October 31, 2014, and identified additional studies from reference lists and other systematic reviews. Clinical trials with random or nonrandom controls were included if they tested print, video, or web-based tools for advance care planning (ACP) or decision aids for serious illness. We extracted data on the study population, design, results, and risk for bias using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria. Each tool was evaluated for its effect on patient outcomes and accessibility. FINDINGS Seventeen randomized clinical trials tested decision tools in serious illness. Nearly all the trials were of moderate or high quality and showed that decision tools improve patient knowledge and awareness of treatment choices. The available tools address ACP, palliative care and goals of care communication, feeding options in dementia, lung transplant in cystic fibrosis, and truth telling in terminal cancer. Five randomized clinical trials provided further evidence that decision tools improve ACP documentation, clinical decisions, and treatment received. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Clinicians can access and use evidence-based tools to engage seriously ill patients in shared decision making. This field of research is in an early stage; future research is needed to develop novel decision aids for other serious diagnoses and key decisions. Health care delivery organizations should prioritize the use of currently available tools that are evidence based and effective.

Emergency department experiences of acutely symptomatic patients with terminal illness and their family caregivers.

CONTEXT Despite increased focus on improving palliative care in the emergency department (ED), there is little research on how to best address the specific needs of this patient population. OBJECTIVES To better understand the experiences of acutely symptomatic patients seen in the ED. METHODS Using in-person semi-structured interviews, we explored the attitudes, experiences, and beliefs of 14 patients and seven family caregivers on the inpatient palliative care consult service, who had been admitted through the ED at two academic medical centers. We used a grounded theory approach to code responses. Transcripts were coded by a palliative medicine physician, an emergency medicine physician, and a general internist. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus. Coded sections were iteratively reviewed for interpretation, and concepts were collapsed into themes. RESULTS Five distinct themes emerged: 1) unprepared for managing symptoms at home; 2) uncertainty and anxiety; 3) communication is essential; 4) mixed experiences with symptom management; and 5) conflicting perspectives about the purpose of palliative care clinicians in the ED. CONCLUSION Patients and caregivers identified systems, communication, and clinical issues in ED care that should be a focus for future research.

Length of Stay for Older Adults Residing in Nursing Homes at the End of Life

OBJECTIVES: To describe lengths of stay of nursing home decedents.