Trends in Specialty Palliative Care Service Utilization and In-Hospital Outcomes for Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Che M Harris; Callie Higgins; Ambereen K Mehta

doi:10.1089/jpm.2023.0444

Trends in Specialty Palliative Care Service Utilization and In-Hospital Outcomes for Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

J Palliat Med. 2024 Apr;27(4):521-525. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2023.0444. Epub 2024 Feb 6.

Authors

Che M Harris¹, Callie Higgins², Ambereen K Mehta³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
² Byram Hill High School, Armonk, New York, USA.
³ Palliative Care Program, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

PMID: 38324041
DOI: 10.1089/jpm.2023.0444

Abstract

Background: Hospitalized people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may benefit from specialty palliative care services (sPCS). Objective: To describe access to in-hospital sPCS for people with ALS (pALS). Methods: We compared years 2010-2011 to 2018-2019, and conducted trend analyses of sPCS from 2010 to 2019 stratified by race. Results: Of 103,193 pALS admitted during the study period, 13,885 (13.4%) received sPCS. Rates of sPCS increased over time (2010-2011: 8.9% vs. 2018-2019: 16.6%; p < 0.01). From 2010 to 2019, there was an increase in sPCS (p-trend<0.01) for all studied racial groups. Conclusions: Access to palliative care has increased over time for pALS admitted to hospitals in the United States.

Keywords: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; inpatient; national inpatient sample; palliative care.

MeSH terms

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis* / therapy
Hospitalization
Hospitals
Humans
Palliative Care*
Patients
United States