This study described information about the preference of place of death and its potential predictive factors in terminally ill patients with cancer in mainland of China.

BackgroundsIntra-abdominal placement of the Central Venous Catheter (CVC) was conducted to manage the ascites-related symptoms of non-ovarian cancer patients. The aim of this study is to document the efficacy of symptom relief and conduct survival analysis of non-ovarian cancer patients with malignant ascites who received paracentesis and indwelling catheter drainage.MethodsSeventy eight patients received paracentesis and drainage. All patients who met the inclusion criteria were included in this study. The overall survival (OS) was defined as the interval between initial diagnosis and death. Since-paracentesis survival (SP-Survival) was defined as the interval between initial paracentesis and death.ResultsHepatic cancer was the most frequent original cancer in this study. Peritoneal catheters remained in situ for a median of 13 days. No immediate complications, such as perforation of a viscus or excessive bleeding, were encountered during placement. All ascites-related symptoms improved after drainage compared with the baseline. There was a statistically significant improvement in the mean score for abdominal swelling (p < 0.001), anorexia (p = 0.023) and constipation (p = 0.045). Cancer type was shown to be an independent prognostic factor for overall survival length (p = 0.001). Serum albumin was an independent prognostic factor for SP-survival (p = 0.02).ConclusionsParacentesis and indwelling catheter drainage through CVC set is a useful method for improving painful symptom. Further research is needed to validate the findings.

Purpose Where people die may influence the quality of their death, little is known about the choice for place of death of cancer patients in Shanghai, China. Considering the culture difference and palliative care implement, we organised a prospective questionnaire based on the choice death place between terminally ill cancer patients and their families. Methods: Among 4 years, 352 Patient-family care giver dyads were surveyed. The main outcome variables of the study were age, sex, income, marital status, living condition, religious beliefs, medical resources, the choice of the place of death and its reason. Descriptive statistics, χ2, κ coefficients were used. Determinants of congruence on preferences were identified by multivariate logistic regression. Results The majority choice of death place was home (82.5% and 72.3%). Patient-care giver dyads achieved 68.5% agreement on the preferred place of death. The κ coefficient of congruence was 0.59 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.66) For patients, worries of being a burden to others is the first reason for the choice of home; for families, the first reason was culture concerns. The Logistic regression analysis revealed the following independent predictors of preferring to die at home: age and living conditions. Conclusion This study described the preference of the death place choice and potential influencing factors and revealed the possibility for the integration of effective home care model in Shanghai Palliative Care programs. Effective interventions need to be developed avoid unnecessary re-hospitalisations and unfavourable hospital deaths, and improve accordance with the patients' wishes. Acknowledge for the funding form helped the hospice: The preference of place of death between terminally ill cancer patients. (Funding NO: 2005383)