Screening for End-of-Life in Acute Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

Background Patients are frequently admitted to hospital in the last year of life. Actively recognising patients at this stage gives the opportunity to plan future care. Methods We performed a cross-sectional survey of all acute medical and surgical inpatients at one tertiary hospital. Two simple screening tools, the indicators for a palliative approach and the surprise question identified a group of patients at greatly increased risk of dying over the next year. Results The one-year mortality of the study group was 27%, however was 52% and 65% for those identified at risk by the indicators for a palliative approach and surprise question tools. The surprise question had an area under the receiver operator curve value of .84. Conclusion These screening tools could be used to help clinicians identify hospital inpatients that would benefit from advance care planning and a tailored approach to their care.