Initial assessment of patients without cognitive failure admitted in palliative care

To develop a screening tool that was short, not time consuming but able to detect the patients' main problems at admission.

A list of 106 symptoms/problems derived from a review of the literature was created and shortened using a Delphi process.

Thirteen experts scored each item with a numeric rating scale of 0 to 10 for relevance. After 3 rounds, the list was shortened to 14 items: general question--what bothers you the most? symptoms/problems--pain, lack of appetite, vomiting, tiredness/fatigue, nausea, constipation, shortness of breath, depression, anxiety, difficulty sleeping; activity (dressing, washing, etc); support from family/friends; and well-being.

The final tool is short and seems to include the relevant items that would make it useful for clinical practice.