title: Accuracy and usefulness of the Palliative Prognostic Index in a community setting.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In a community setting characterised by scarce inpatient palliative care resources, a precise prognosis could help determine which patients should be prioritised for end-of-life admission.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the validity of the Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI) and to determine whether it is a helpful tool for nurses to administer as part of the admission protocol in the palliative care service of a community hospital.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The PPI was a moderately accurate prognostic tool when assessing the frequency of 14-day overstay; 81% of patients died within 14 days of their expected prognosis. Based on sensitivity and specificity, the accuracy of the prognoses was acceptable for the 6-week prognosis group (80%), and poor for the 3-week prognostic group (53%). The tool was easy to administer by the admission nurse receiving referrals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A nurse-administered and minimally-invasive prognostic tool was helpful in this context.
authors.affiliation: Research Scientist, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Public Health Research Institute (IRSPUM), Université de Montreal.
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Belanger
authors.affiliation: Palliative Care Nurse, Mount Sinai Hospital, Montreal.
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tetrault
authors.affiliation: Head of Palliative Care Services, Mount Sinai Hospital, Montreal.
authors.forename: Golda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tradounsky
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Department of Oncology, McGill University.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Towers
authors.affiliation: Head Nurse of Palliative Care Services, Mount Sinai Hospital, Montreal.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marchessault
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004194:Disease / Q000145:classification; D005260:Female; D006764:Hospitals, Community / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011379:Prognosis; D011792:Quebec
keywords: Community health services; Palliative care; Patient admission; Prognosis