PMID: 8945102Nov 1, 1996Paper

Debility, unspecified: a terminal diagnosis

The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care
B M KinzbrunnerM P Merriman

Abstract

To determine whether the diagnosis "debility, unspecified" (ICD-9 code 799.3) is appropriate for use with terminally ill patients and to define the criteria for assigning the diagnosis. A survey of patient charts to determine the clinical characteristics of a defined cohort. A comprehensive hospice program with average daily census over 500 patients. All patients who died in the hospice program during the period from January through October, 1993 and were assigned a diagnosis of "debility, unspecified" (ICD-9, 799.3). For each patient, the following information was recorded: demographics, level of function (ability to carry out activities of daily living), presence of major system disease, other illnesses, any other appropriate ICD-9 coded diagnosis. The diagnosis of "debility, unspecified" was confirmed in 50 out of 53 cases. All 50 patients exhibited multiple comorbid conditions. Major organ system impairment included central nervous system (96 percent of patients), cardiopulmonary (76 percent of patients), skin integrity (42 percent of patients), and sepsis at the time of admission (30 percent of patients). The average survival for these patients was 67 days and the median survival was 20 days. In none of the 50 patients was...Continue Reading

References

May 1, 1985·Journal of the American Geriatrics Society·M J LichtensteinW Schaffner
Aug 1, 1969·Archives of General Psychiatry·A I Goldfarb
Apr 1, 1983·The Gerontologist·R L KaneE Keeler
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Sep 21, 1963·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·S KATZM W JAFFE

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Citations

Aug 27, 2011·The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care·Toby L SchonfeldWilliam L Lyons

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