Referral Time of Advance Cancer Patients to Palliative Care Services and Its Predictors in Specialized Cancer Center

Background and aim Globally, there is a discrepancy in whether terminal cancer patients are early referred to palliative care service (PCS) or not. A late referral can lead to a delay in treating and palliating those patients in need. The aim of this study is to investigate the referral time patterns of advanced cancer patients to PCS in Princess Noorah Oncology Center (PNOC) at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In addition, this study evaluates the factors that influence referral time to the palliative care unit (PCU), along with the overall survival rate. Methods This was a retrospective cross-sectional study (chart review) conducted at the inpatient unit in PNOC and included all patients referred to PCS between January 1st, 2016, and December 31, 2016. In total, 153 patients met the inclusion criteria, and their data were collected and analyzed. Results The median length of stay (LOS) was five days (95% CI: 3.85-6.15). Among the 153 patients, 22 (14.4%) died within 24 hours of enrollment to PCU. Patients who were referred to the PCU with non-metastasis disease had a median LOS of nine days, which is significantly longer than the median LOS in patients with metastatic disease (95% CI: 0.35-0.82, p=0.004), which indicates that they referred relatively earlier to PCU. The hazard ratio for death in patients with non-metastatic cancer stage was 0.54 (95% CI: 0.35-0.82, p=0.004). Conclusion Referral of advanced cancer patients to palliative care services occurs late in their disease course in our institution, like other institutions, with variation in LOS, which shorten their stay at palliative, as well as, affects their quality of life (QOL) and ability to plan or make a decision regarding their care. Education of the public and, most importantly, the medical community is needed.