Palliative Care in MS Inpatients Rises From 2005 to 2014

TUESDAY, Dec. 18, 2018 (HealthDay News) — From 2005 to 2014, trends in palliative care use increased substantially among multiple sclerosis (MS) inpatients, according to a study published in the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience.

Yong-Jae Lee, Ph.D., from the Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues used data from the 2005 to 2014 U.S. national inpatient sample to examine 10-year temporal trends of palliative care and independent associations of palliative care with hospital utilization and cost.

The researchers found that from 2005 to 2014, the national trends in palliative care utilization in MS patients increased from 0.2 to 6.1 percent, with a single-year increase from 1.5 to 4.5 percent between 2010 and 2011. Among those with in-hospital death, there was a gradual increase in the proportion receiving palliative care from 2005 to 2014 (from 7.7 to 58.8 percent). There was a correlation for hospital palliative care with increased length of stay (β = 0.444 days) and in-hospital death (odds ratio, 15.35) and with decreased hospital charges (β = $2,261).

“The temporal trends of palliative care use in MS inpatients gradually increased with an exponential increase between 2010 and 2011 during 2005-2014, which is mostly attributed to both the Affordable Care Act implementation and patients with higher risk of in-hospital death,” the authors write.

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