Supervivencia, según la Palliative Performance Scale, de pacientes oncológicos trasladados a unidades de cuidados paliativos de media estancia por un equipo de soporte hospitalario

Introduction: The value of "Palliative Performance Scale" (PPS) to estimate survival of patients with terminal illness is widely recognized. This scale has also been used in care planning and resource management in palliative care. Aims: To estimate survival in the host institution for cancer patients who move to intermediate-stay palliative care units (UCPME) from an acute care hospital according to the PPS value at time of transfer. To evaluate the association between this score and survival. Method: Retrospective study of cancer patients treated by a palliative care support team and transferred to an UCPME in the period 01/07/2008 to 31/12/2009. We estimated survival by Kaplan-Meier function for the group of patients with PPS score <20% and PPS> 20% and compared by log-rank test. A Cox model was adjusted to estimate the probability of survival at different times depending on the value of PPS at the time of discharge. Results: Seventy seven patients were included (mean age 77 (9.6) years; 42.9% women). Lung cancer was the most frequent neoplasm (14.3%). The mean PPS at the time of transfer was 40.9% (12.6). Median survival was 4 days (95% CI; 0-9) in the PPS ≤ 20% group, and 33 days (95% CI; 19-47) in the PPS> 20% group (P=.006). There was a 4% increased risk of mortality per unit decrease in PPS (HR=1.04, 95% CI 1.02-1.06). Conclusions: Patients survival in the UCPME was significantly different depending on the PPS at the time of discharge. A death probabilities table according to the PPS at the time of transfer and the days afterwards was created from the results.