title: The place of death of patients with cancer in Kuwait.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The place of death (PoD) has a significant effect on end-of-life care for patients dying of cancer. Little is known about the place of cancer deaths in our region.
  
  
  METHODS
  To identify the PoD of patients with cancer in Kuwait, we reviewed the death certificates submitted to the Kuwait Cancer Registry in 2009.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 611 cancer deaths, 603 (98.7%) died in hospitals and only 6 (1%) patients died at home. More than half (57.3%) of inhospital deaths were in the Kuwait Cancer Control Center. Among those for whom the exact PoD within the hospital was identified (484 patients), 116 (24%) patients died in intensive care units and 12 (2.5%) patients died in emergency rooms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This almost exclusive inhospital death of patients with cancer in Kuwait is the highest ever reported. Research is needed to identify the reasons behind this pattern of PoD and to explore interventions promoting out-of-hospital death among terminally ill cancer patients in Kuwait.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait, Kuwait Department of Medical Oncology, Kuwait Cancer Control Center, Kuwait, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Salem H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Alshemmari
authors.affiliation: Cancer Epidemiology and Registration Unit, Kuwait Cancer Control Center, Kuwait, Kuwait Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Biostatistics, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Amani A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Elbasmi
authors.affiliation: Palliative Medicine Unit, Kasr Al-Ainy Center of Clinical Oncology & Nuclear Medicine (NEMROCK), Kasr Al-Ainy School of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Samy A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Alsirafy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003643:Death; D003644:Death Certificates; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007730:Kuwait / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D012042:Registries; D019452:Terminally Ill / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cancer; End-of-life care; Kuwiat; Palliative Care; Place of death