RETROSPECTIVE EVALUATION OF PATIENTS ADMITTED TO THE PALLIATIVE CARE UNIT

Abstract

Palliative care is a human-centered health service that aims to improve the quality of life of individuals with life-threatening diseases and their families and is provided with a multidisciplinary approach. With the increase in the elderly population and chronic diseases worldwide, the need for palliative care is increasing. In Turkey, the number of centers providing services in this field is increasing and more than 90 thousand patients were served in 2023. This study retrospectively examined the demographic and clinical characteristics, length of stay and discharge status of 155 patients hospitalized in the Palliative Care Center of Siirt Training and Research Hospital in 2023. 59.4% of the patients were male and 40.6% were female with a mean age of 61.7±15 years. The mean length of hospitalization was 11.17 days. While 81.9% of the patients were hospitalized between 0-15 days, 7.1% were hospitalized for 30 days or more. Discharge rate was 85.2%, referral rate was 7.1% and death rate was 7.7%. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (26.5%), cerebrovascular diseases (24.5%), diabetes mellitus (21.3%) and malignancy (12.8%). Bed sores were present in 14.8%, total parenteral nutrition in 42.6%, central venous catheters in 36.1% and urinary catheters in 41.3%. The findings are consistent with the national and world literature. In conclusion, the need for palliative care is increasing and early provision of these services can reduce the burden of the healthcare system. However, many patients do not benefit from these services sufficiently due to lack of knowledge and awareness. The fact that the study was conducted in a single center is a limitation and more comprehensive studies are needed.