Comparison of resuscitation intervention utilization in the emergency department by palliative care eligible patients between cancer and non-cancer

Resuscitation interventions are procedures for managing clinical deterioration in patients with life-threatening conditions by securing the airway, maintaining breathing, or supporting circulation. Little is known about differences in the use of resuscitation interventions and the characteristics of patients eligible for palliative care in the emergency department. The objectives of this study are to compare resuscitation interventions in the emergency department between patients with cancer and non-cancer palliative care eligibility. A retrospective cohort study was conducted by reviewing the medical records of the palliative care eligible patients who visited the emergency department of one university hospital between January and June 2019. Among the 956 visits (13.7%) by palliative care eligible patients of 7000 random visits, 480 were patients with cancer (50.2%), and 476 were non-cancer patients (49.8%). The overall median age was 72, and 54.1% were female. The mortality rates in the following year were 35.0% for patients with cancer and 18.7% for non-cancer illnesses. The patients with cancer and non-cancer received prior palliative care at 7.3% and 0.8% (p < 0.001) and initiated palliative care at the emergency department at 6.3% and 2.7%, respectively (p = 0.008). The non-cancer patients utilized overall resuscitation interventions 1.7 times more than the cancer patients (aOR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.0-2.6, p = 0.030). For the palliative care eligible patients in the emergency department, patients with cancer and non-cancer significantly differed in their characteristics. Patients with non-cancer received more resuscitation interventions than patients with cancer.