Comparison of the Treatments of Patients With Cancer in Their Last 6 Months Between ICU and Cancer Center

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the treatments of patients with cancer in their last 6 months of life in intensive care unit (ICU) and Cancer Center. Method: A prospective study was conducted on patients with cancer who died between January 2010 and July 2013 in the ICU and the Cancer Center (55 and 161 cases, respectively) of Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, China. The differences were compared by Chi-square test or Fisher test. Results: The differences in the treatments of patients with cancer between 2 groups were statistically significant. The proportion of patients with cancer who accepted blood transfusion (except albumin) was significantly higher in the ICU than in the Cancer Center. Conclusion: Patients with cancer in the ICU were more likely to receive active treatments and less palliative and hospice care at the end of life than patients in the Cancer Center.