Identifying patients in the palliative phase is challenging but important, as timely
and proactive palliative care can improve quality of life.
1
One way of determining whether a patient is in the palliative phase is via the Surprise
Question, a widely recommended single-item tool (Would I be surprised if this patient
died in the next 12 months?). However, there is a distinct lack of studies into the
performance of the Surprise Question in older hospitalized patients. Currently, relatively
few frail older patients have the opportunity to discuss their end-of-life care with
their physician, even though most would appreciate such a conversation.
2
The primary aim of this study was to establish the predictive validity of the Surprise
Question in older hospitalized patients. Its secondary aims were to assess whether
the validity of the Surprise Question is different between physicians and nurses,
between patients aged ≥80 and <80 years, or improves by combining answers and adding
age.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Early palliative care for patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer.N Engl J Med. 2010; 363: 733-742
- Do the elderly have a voice? Advance care planning discussions with frail and older individuals: a systematic literature review and narrative synthesis.Br J Gen Pract. 2013; 63: 657-668
- Added value of early consultation of an inpatient palliative care team in hospitalized older patients with high symptom burden: a prospective comparative study.Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2021; 38: 1258-1264
- How accurate is the ‘Surprise Question' at identifying patients at the end of life? A systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC Med. 2017; 15: 139
- The "surprise question" for predicting death in seriously ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.CMAJ. 2017; 189: E484-E493
- Usability of the surprise question by nurses to identify 12-month mortality in hospitalized older patients: A prospective cohort study.Int J Nurs Stud. 2020; 109: 103609
- Prognostic value of the Surprise Question for one-year mortality in older patients: a prospective multicenter study in acute geriatric and cardiology units.Acta Clin Belg. 2022; 77: 286-294
- Screening with the double surprise question to predict deterioration and death: an explorative study.BMC Palliat Care. 2019; 18: 118
- Timely identification of patients in need of palliative care using the Double Surprise Question: a prospective study on outpatients with cancer.Palliat Med. 2021; 35: 592-602
- Surprise Question and performance status indicate urgency of palliative care needs in patients with advanced cancer at the emergency department: an observational cohort study.J Palliat Med. 2020; 23: 801-808
Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 17, 2022
Footnotes
M.T. and F.J.H.M. contributed equally.
Funding: This research was sponsored by institutional funding only.
D.J.A.J. has received lectures fees from Novartis, AstraZeneca, and Boehringer Ingelheim. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectRelated Podcast
May 17, 2022
May 2022 Issue: Screening for Sepsis, Families as Caregivers in the Nursing Home, and The Growing Population of Nursing Home Residents Younger than 65
Host: Dr. Karl Steinberg. Featuring Dr. Philip Sloane, Dr. Mallory Brown.
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/download/hve3vh/JOTG-2022-05-25_mixdown_incresed_gain.mp3
Loading ...
