title: The determinants of patients in a palliative care unit being discharged home in Japan.
abstract: In Japan, regarding the place of end-of-life care, many people preferred the home. However, there is a discrepancy between patients' wishes and the actual circumstances. The primary aim of this study was to explore the factors that determine discharge home of patients in a palliative care unit. A total of 31 patients met the criteria. The patients who could be discharged home (group 1; n = 23) were compared with the others (group 2; n = 8). Palliative prognostic index was significantly lower in group 1 than in group 2 (P = .032). Regarding routes of feeding, oral intake was significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2 (P = .043). That is to say, factors determining discharge home of patients may be influenced by the patient's prognosis and the necessity of a feeding device.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Palliative Care, Palliative Care Team, Saito-Yukoukai Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Amano
authors.forename: Yasuno
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishiuchi
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baba
authors.forename: Muneyoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.forename: Shinichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wakayama
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Watakabe
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kunimoto
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Morita
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: discharge home; palliative care unit; patients with advanced cancer; the place of end-of-life care