Symptom Burden and Performance Status among Community-Dwelling Patients with Serious Illness

Journal of Palliative Medicine
Arif H KamalAmy P Abernethy

Abstract

Predicting when burdensome symptoms will arise or worsen is important to preserving quality of life in patients with serious illness. We explored the relationship between prevalence and severity of symptoms and underlying performance status. We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of patients receiving community palliative care, investigating relationships between symptom burden and performance status. Patient data were obtained from the Carolinas Palliative Care Consortium Database, a central registry of community consultation data for research and quality improvement. We measured symptom prevalence and severity using the McCorkle Symptom Distress Scale and performance status using the Palliative Performance Scale. We analyzed data of 4994 patients, most (90%) with noncancer, serious illnesses. Thirty percent had one or more moderate/severe symptoms. In addition to identifying the high prevalence of fatigue and pain, we found distinct groupings of symptoms with high burden associated with different levels of performance status. This includes high prevalence of fatigue, anorexia, and dyspnea in patients with high performance. Patients with low performance status, however, reported more pain, depression, and constipation. B...Continue Reading

References

Oct 1, 1978·Cancer Nursing·R McCorkle, K Young
May 2, 2000·Supportive Care in Cancer : Official Journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer·D WalshL Rybicki
Oct 17, 2007·Current Oncology·G FanE Chow
Dec 15, 2010·Journal of Pain and Symptom Management·Dale Lupu, UNKNOWN American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Workforce Task Force
Nov 20, 2012·Journal of Pain and Symptom Management·Arif H KamalAmy P Abernethy

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Citations

Apr 6, 2016·Journal of Pain and Symptom Management·Michael J HochmanArif H Kamal
Sep 25, 2016·Journal of Pain and Symptom Management·Michael J HochmanThomas W LeBlanc
May 8, 2018·Supportive Care in Cancer : Official Journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer·Katherine ClarkD C Currow
Sep 22, 2018·Palliative & Supportive Care·Huda Abu-Saad HuijerHusam Ghusn
Jul 22, 2018·The Journal of Nursing Research : JNR·Jiwon LeeJong-Eun Lee
Sep 6, 2019·Journal of Palliative Medicine·Huong Q NguyenUNKNOWN HomePal Research Group
Aug 17, 2021·Nursing Research·Komal P MuraliAbraham A Brody

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