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Palliative Care Involvement in Patients with Operative Mortality After Cardiac Surgery
Hayden Leeds1, Danielle Smith2
1Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA. leedsh@ohsu.edu.
Background:
The aim of this study was to examine palliative care involvement in patients with operative mortality after cardiac surgery, to gain a better understanding of this high-risk population and factors influencing referral.
Methods:
This is a retrospective review using data submitted to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Database.
Results:
The total study population included 93 patients with operative mortality, only 30% of whom had palliative care involvement. The median time from first palliative care involvement to death was 6 days. Nearly 40% of patients had a status labeled as elective at the time of surgery.
Conclusion:
Our findings suggest that patient mortality risk for elective surgery is being underestimated, or the indications for palliative care consultation in high-risk patients is going unrecognized. Such knowledge may facilitate earlier palliative care involvement, with the goal of improved quality of life for cardiac patients.
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