Table 1 Characteristics of adult palliative patients who declined life-sustaining treatments. Results are categorized by 7-day mortality.
Variables | Died within 7 days (N1 = 152) | Survived after 7 days (N2 = 347) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
Age in years (\(\:\pm\:\)SD) | 72.65\(\:\pm\:\)15.33 | 78.16\(\:\pm\:\)13.94 | < 0.001 |
Age\(\:\ge\:\)65 years | 110 (72.37%) | 293 (84.44%) | 0.003 |
Sex (male) | 77 (50.66%) | 148 (42.65%) | 0.118 |
Nursing home resident | 21 (13.82%) | 54 (15.56%) | 0.684 |
Comorbidities | |||
Diabetes mellitus | 47 (30.92%) | 134 (38.62%) | 0.106 |
Myocardial infarction | 23 (15.13%) | 50 (14.41%) | 0.891 |
COPD | 19 (12.50%) | 46 (13.26%) | 0.886 |
End-stage renal disease | 8 (5.26%) | 25 (7.20%) | 0.557 |
Stroke | 24 (15.79%) | 131 (37.75%) | < 0.001 |
Liver disease | 34 (22.37%) | 41 (11.82%) | 0.004 |
Solid malignancy | 91 (59.87%) | 140 (40.35%) | < 0.001 |
Hematologic malignancy | 13 (3.75%) | 7 (4.61%) | 0.628 |
Charlson comorbidity index (\(\:\pm\:\)SD) | 8.03\(\:\pm\:\)2.73 | 7.67\(\:\pm\:\)2.56 | 0.157 |
Bedridden status | 77 (50.66%) | 228 (65.71%) | 0.002 |
Clinical variables | |||
RMM | 35 (23.03%) | 10 (2.88%) | < 0.001 |
Unresponsive in AVPU scale | 20 (13.16%) | 13 (3.75%) | < 0.001 |
SBP in mmHg (\(\:\pm\:\)SD) | 115.02\(\:\pm\:\)28.09 | 130.30\(\:\pm\:\)27.02 | < 0.001 |
SBP < 100 mmHg | 44 (28.95%) | 39 (11.24%) | < 0.001 |
DBP in mmHg (\(\:\pm\:\)SD) | 68.36\(\:\pm\:\)17.08 | 76.13\(\:\pm\:\)35.44 | 0.010 |
Heart rate per minute (\(\:\pm\:\)SD) | 103.32\(\:\pm\:\)25.88 | 99.01\(\:\pm\:\)22.31 | 0.059 |
Respiratory rate per minute (\(\:\pm\:\)SD) | 27.38\(\:\pm\:\)7.73 | 24.48\(\:\pm\:\)6.26 | < 0.001 |
Oxygen saturation % (\(\:\pm\:\)SD) | 96.04\(\:\pm\:\)5.83 | 97.92\(\:\pm\:\)2.69 | < 0.001 |
Laboratory investigations | |||
Leukocyte count x109/L (IQR) | 11.65 (7.54–16.20) | 10.52 (7.20–14.33) | 0.125 |
Neutrophil count x109/L (IQR) | 10.03 (5.82–14.62) | 8.67 (5.40–12.54) | 0.069 |
Lymphocyte count x109/L (IQR) | 0.66 (0.32–0.97) | 0.92 (0.53–1.39) | < 0.001 |
Lymphopenia (< 1 × 109/L) | 106 (76.26%) | 186 (54.07%) | < 0.001 |
Hemoglobin in g/dL (\(\:\pm\:\)SD) | 9.59\(\:\pm\:\)2.24 | 10.43\(\:\pm\:\)2.44 | < 0.001 |
Platelet count x109/L (IQR) | 189 (102–308) | 234.5 (170–321.5) | 0.001 |
Thrombocytopenia (< 150 × 109/L) | 57 (41.01%) | 61 (17.73%) | < 0.001 |
Serum albumin in g/L (\(\:\pm\:\)SD) | 23.55\(\:\pm\:\)6.20 | 26.70\(\:\pm\:\)6.72 | < 0.001 |
AST in U/L (IQR) | 63 (35–143) | 36 (24–61) | < 0.001 |
ALT in U/L (IQR) | 24 (10–74) | 18 (10–35) | 0.009 |
BUN in mg/dL (IQR) | 33 (21–54) | 23 (15–43.5) | < 0.001 |
Creatinine in mg/dL (IQR) | 1.07 (0.66–2.01) | 0.99 (0.64–1.69) | 0.181 |
BUN/Cr ratio (IQR) | 28.28 (20.78–40) | 23.20 (16.50–32.70) | < 0.001 |
BUN/Cr > 20 | 106 (76.26%) | 212 (61.63%) | 0.002 |
