Prevalence of palliative care consultation in hematologic and oncologic patients admitted to the intensive care unit

Gastón D. Martínez-Sedas, Pain Clinic, Hospital General de México Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Secretaría de Salud, Mexico City, México
Elisa Hernández-Ramírez, Pain Clinic, Hospital General de México Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Secretaría de Salud, Mexico City, México
Miguel Jiménez-Olvera, Pain Clinic, Hospital General de México Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Secretaría de Salud, Mexico City, México
Adolfo Pérez-García, Research Unit, Hospital General de México Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Secretaría de Salud, Mexico City, México
Alfonso Chávez-Morales, Medical Intensive Care Therapy. Hospital General de México Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Secretaría de Salud, Mexico City, México

Introduction: Palliative care should currently be integrated into the treatment of a patient with terminal or progressive disease from the time of diagnosis, including patients who may require admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Incorporating palliative care in ICU patients improves patient and caregiver satisfaction, reduces days of stay in the unit, and redirects treatment objectives toward guidelines such as “do not intubate/do not resuscitate” or discharge of patients to palliative care centers. Objective: The primary objective was to determine the proportion of hematologic and oncologic patients with advanced disease at admission to the ICU who had a palliative care consultation early or before admission. Material and methods: Cross-sectional, observational, descriptive study. Records of patients over 18 years of age, with advanced oncological and/or hematological disease who were admitted to the central ICU and Oncology of the Hospital General de México Dr. Eduardo Liceaga in 2023 were studied. Results: Of 40 records studied, 15% received a palliative consultation, of which only 5% were generated within the ICU. Conclusion: This study showed that 15% of patients admitted to the ICU received a palliative consultation, showing a need to integrate palliative care into the standard of patient care in the ICU.

Keywords: Palliative care. Hematology. Oncology. Intensive care unit.