Abstract
Background: Patients with advanced COPD experience poor quality of life towards death, but little is known about the prevalence and management of symptoms at the end of life. Most evidence and experience in end of life care derives from terminal cancer patients.
Objective: This study aimed to measure symptom burden as well as care provided during the last week of life in oxygen-dependent COPD compared to cancer.
Methods: Nationwide registry-based cohort study of patients with oxygen-dependent COPD and cancer patients who died between January 1, 2011 and October 14, 2013. Prevalence of symptoms and treatments given were compared between patients with COPD and people dying from cancer in SRPC.
Findings: A total of 1,128 COPD patients and 56,843 cancer patients were included. Compared to patients with cancer, COPD patients died more often in hospital (49% vs. 28%), received less specialized palliative home care (4% vs. 14%) and suffered from more breathlessness (73% vs. 22%) and anxiety (63% vs. 54%) but less pain (52% vs. 81%) and nausea (11% vs. 23%) during the last week of life (p <0.001 for all comparisons).
Conclusion: This study highlights the need of better symptom control in patients with advanced COPD at the end of life.
- Copyright ©ERS 2015
