Chemotherapy Use in the Months Before Death and Estimated Costs of Care in the Last Week of Life.

ABSTRACT:

Context

Considerable attention has been paid to the disproportionately high costs of care for patients nearing death, yet little is known about the costs associated with chemotherapy use among end-stage cancer patients.

Objectives

To compare costs of care other than chemotherapy in the last week of life based on whether cancer patients were using chemotherapy in the months just before death.

Methods

A total of 311 patients with advanced cancer who died between 2002 and 2008 were studied. Data included medical records, patient baseline surveys (median four months before death), and postmortem interviews of caregivers and clinicians. Costs of care were estimated based on reports of death site and services other than chemotherapy received in the week before death (e.g.,

SUBMITTER: Garrido MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4875864 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature