Abstract:

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to present the coordination of a palliative care unit (PCU) and home health care (HHC) in a university hospital and describe services of PCU. Materials and Methods: Patients hospitalized in PCUof Karabük University Training and Research Hospital between 01.12.2015 – 01.12.2016 were assessed retrospectively. HHC and PCU were coordinated by Family Medicine Clinic. Demographic characteristics, existing diseases, hospitalization criteria, hospitalization durations of the patients were recorded. Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) and Palliative Performance Index (PPI) were performed in an attempt to assess the performances at hospitalization and discharge. Results: 149 patients were hospitalized in PCU between 01.12.2015 – 10.12.2016. Average age of patients was 74.93±14.61 (min:17-max:96) years, averagely 43% (n=64) were male, 57% were female  (n=85), average hospitalization duration was 14.50±12.03 (min:1-max:79) days. Nutritional failure and decubitus ulcers were determined as the main etiology in hospitalization and neurological diseases and malignancies were the most underlying diseases. 78.52% (n=117) of the patients were bedridden. Mortality rate was 12.08% (n=18) for one year. KPS and PPI scores at discharge of the patients were higher than scores at hospitalization (p<0.001). Conclusion: Optimal hospitalization durations of the patients may be associated with the coordination of PCU and HHC. Higher performance at discharge than at hospitalization time reveals the importance of palliative care.

Keywords: