ABSTRACT
Objectives: Palliative care (PC) referral in serious and critical COVID-19 improves decision-making, health resource utilisation, end-of-life symptom management and family support. In this study, we explored developing a systematic decision-making matrix for PC referral in COVID-19 and audited its outcomes. Materials and Methods: A team of interdisciplinary experts developed a hospital COVID-19 PC plan. PC referral and outcomes of PC referral in hospitalised COVID-19 patients were audited. Results: Out of 1575 inpatients, 1066 (67.7%) had mild and 509 (32.3%) had serious and critical COVID-19 illness. Among 50 (3.1%) referred to PC, 5 (0.4%) had mild and 45 (8.8%) had serious and critical COVID-19 illness. Out of 45 serious and critical COVID-19 patients referred to PC, 38 (84%) received end-of-life care (EOLC), 4 (9%) self-discharged against medical advice and 3 (7%) recovered. Forty-seven (94%) were referred for goals-of-care discussion. About 78% received opioids, 70% benzodiazepines and 42% haloperidol for symptom management. Among 45 serious and critical COVID-19 patients referred to PC, foregoing life-sustaining treatment was documented in 43 (96%) but implemented only in 23 (53%). Out of 38 who received EOLC, ICU was the place of death in 31 (82%) and ward in 7 (18%). Conclusion: Despite interdisciplinary experts developing a hospital COVID-19 PC, low referral of serious and critical COVID-19 patients to PC was observed. PC referral enabled access to management of end-of-life symptoms and facilitated limitation of life-sustaining treatment in some COVID-19 patients with serious illness. Educating critical care physicians about the scope of PC in the COVID-19 setting might improve PC referral.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The clinical profile and factors affecting outcomes in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) from adequately sample-sized Indian studies are still lacking. We aimed to investigate the clinical profile, treatment pattern, outcomes; and to assess factors affecting non-recovery in ARDS patients. Patients and methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted among adult ARDS patients admitted during five year period (January 2014-December 2018) in a South Indian tertiary care setting. The relevant data were collected from the medical records to the data collection form. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the predictors of outcomes using SPSS v20. Results: A total of 857 participants including 496 males and 361 females with a mean age of 46.86 ± 15.81 years were included in this study. Fever (70.9%), crepitation (58.3%), breathlessness (56.9%), and cough (45%) were the major clinical presentation. Hypertension (25.2%), kidney disease (23.8%), and diabetes (22.3%) were the major comorbidities; and sepsis (37.6%), pneumonia (33.3%), and septic shock (27.5%) were the major etiological factors observed. Antibiotics and steroids were administered to 97.9% and 52.3% of the population, respectively. The recovery rate was 47.49%. The patients with scrub typhus, dengue, pancreatitis, and oxygen supplementation had significantly lower mortality. The factors such as advanced age, sepsis, septic shock, liver diseases, and ventilation requirements were observed to be the independent predictors of non-recovery in ARDS patients. Conclusion: A comparable recovery rate was observed in our population. Advanced age, sepsis, septic shock, liver diseases, and ventilation requirements were the independent predictors of non-recovery.