title: The PERS(2) ON score for systemic assessment of symptomatology in palliative care: a pilot study.
abstract: The comprehensive assessment of symptoms is the basis for effective, individualised palliative treatment. Established scoring systems provide in-depth information but are often lengthy and hence unsuitable. We introduce the PERS(2) ON score as a short and practically feasible score to evaluate symptom burden. Fifty patients admitted to a Palliative Care Unit rated seven items, i.e. pain, eating (loss of appetite/weight loss), rehabilitation (physical impairment), social situation (possibility for home care), suffering (anxiety/burden of disease/depression), O2 (dyspnoea) and nausea/emesis, on a scale ranging from 0 (absence) to 10 (worst imaginable), resulting in a score ranging from 0 to 70. Assessments were performed at admission, 7 days after admission and at the day of discharge. Symptom intensity scores were calculated, and change over time was evaluated. A significant improvement was observed from the PERS²ON score between admission and 7 days (P < 0.001; paired t-test). Significant improvement from baseline evaluation to evaluation on the day of discharge was observed (P = 0.001; paired t-test). This study provides initial evidence that the PERS²ON score is both feasible and sensitive to changes of the most prominent symptoms in palliative care. It may be useful in clinical practice to direct palliative treatment strategies and provide targeted symptom management.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Division of Palliative Care, Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Masel
authors.affiliation: Clinical Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Berghoff
authors.affiliation: Clinical Division of Palliative Care, Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schur
authors.affiliation: Clinical Division of Palliative Care, Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Maehr
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schrank
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology and Oncology, Hanusch Hospital, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Simanek
authors.affiliation: Clinical Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Preusser
authors.affiliation: Clinical Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marosi
authors.affiliation: Clinical Division of Palliative Care, Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Watzke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000523:psychology; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D017567:Karnofsky Performance Status; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009325:Nausea / Q000523:psychology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000523:psychology*; D000070659:Patient Comfort; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014839:Vomiting / Q000523:psychology
keywords: advanced cancer; palliative care; quality of life; self-assessment questionnaire; symptom assessment; treatment outcome