Acute symptomatic complications among patients with advanced cancer admitted to acute palliative care units: A prospective observational study

Background:Limited information is available on the symptomatic complications that occur in the last days of life.Aim:We documented the frequency, clinical course, and survival for 25 symptomatic complications among patients admitted to acute palliative care units.Design:Prospective longitudinal observational study.Measurements:Their attending physician completed a daily structured assessment of symptomatic complications from admission to discharge or death.Setting/participants:We enrolled consecutive advanced cancer patients admitted to acute palliative care units at MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA, and Barretos Cancer Hospital, Brazil.Results:A total of 352 patients were enrolled (MD Anderson Cancer Center = 151, Barretos Cancer Hospital = 201). Delirium, pneumonia, and bowel obstruction were the most common complications, occurring in 43%, 20%, and 16% of patients on admission, and 70%, 46%, and 35% during the entire acute palliative care unit stay, respectively. Symptomatic improvement for delirium (36/...