Advance care planning documentation strategies; goals-of-care as an alternative to not-for-resuscitation in medical and oncology patients. A pre-post controlled study on quantifiable outcomes.

Health services in Tasmania, Victoria and now Western Australia are changing to goals-of-care (GOC) advance care planning (ACP) documentation strategies. To compare the clinical impact of two different health department-sanctioned ACP documentation strategies. A non-blinded, pre-post, controlled study over two corresponding 6-month periods in 2016 and 2017 comparing the current discretional not-for-resuscitation (NFR) with a new, inclusive GOC strategy in two medical/oncology wards at a large private hospital. Main outcomes were the uptake of ACP forms per hospitalisation and the timing between hospital admission, ACP form completion and in-patient death. Secondary outcomes included utilisation of the rapid response team (RRT), palliative and critical care services. In total, 650 NFR and 653 GOC patients underwent 1885 admissions (mean Charlson Comorbidity Index = 3.7). GOC patients had a higher uptake of ACP documentation (346 vs 150 ACP forms per 1000 admissions, P < 0.0001) and a higher proportion of ACP forms completed within the first 48 h of admission (58 vs 39%, P = 0.0002) but a higher incidence of altering the initial ACP level of care (P = 0.003). All other measures, including ACP documentation within 48 h of death (P = 0.50), activation of RRT (P = 0.73) and admission to critical (P = 0.62) or palliative (P = 0.81) care services, remained similar. GOC documentation was often incomplete, with most sub-sections left blank between 74 and 87% of occasions. Despite an increased uptake of the GOC form, overall use remained low, written completion was poor, and most quantitative outcomes remained statistically unchanged. Further research is required before a wider GOC implementation can be supported in Australia's healthcare systems.

Morgan DJR ，Eng D ，Higgs D ，Beilin M ，Bulsara C ，Wong M ，Angus L ，Waldron N ... -  《-》

Mapping the Landscape of Advance Care Planning in Adolescents and Young Adults Receiving Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A 5-Year Retrospective Review.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) carries significant risks of morbidity and mortality. Participation in advance care planning (ACP) is crucial to promote patient-centered care and has been shown to have positive impacts on patients, caregivers, and providers. Historically, both HSCT recipients and adolescents and young adults (AYAs) are significantly less likely to engage in ACP. We sought to characterize ACP utilization in AYAs undergoing HSCT by evaluating the frequency of different types of ACP documentation over time and identifying demographic and clinical factors associated with documentation of each type of ACP. We conducted a single-center retrospective review of the electronic health record (EHR) of AYAs (age 15 to 39 years) who underwent allogeneic HSCT between 2015 and 2020. EHR documents were screened for 3 predefined categories of ACP: (1) advance directives (ADs) or medical orders (MOs), which included proof of signed paper directives, expressions of preferred code status, and identification of a healthcare proxy; (2) goals of care (GOC) conversations, which included discussions of medical care in a specific situation informed by patients' priorities; and (3) other ACP conversations, which included more general discussions of patients' values regarding their care or legacy wishes. Documents were coded by 2 researchers, and discrepant categorizations were reviewed by a third researcher. Patients age <18 years on the day of transplantation were excluded in the analyses of AD/MO documentation. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to test for associations between patient factors and documentation of each type of ACP. For deceased patients, Kaplan-Meier curves were created to illustrate the time-to-event relationship between days before death and documentation of each type of ACP. Sixty-eight thousand documents associated with 219 patients were reviewed, and 666 ACP documents associated with 190 patients were identified. Few of the 219 patients had documented GOC (n = 29; 13%) or other ACP conversations (n = 81; 37%). A subset of patients (n = 28; 13%) had no documented ACP. Most of the 201 patients age ≥18 years had a documented AD/MO (n = 172; 86%). No tested factors were significantly associated with documentation of ADs/MOs. GOC and other ACP conversations were more likely to occur in patients with a palliative care consult, and patients with a malignant diagnosis were also more likely to engage in GOC conversations. More than 50% of the documentation occurred in the subset of 39 deceased patients, with one-half of AD/MO documentation in the last 67 days of life, one-half of other ACP documentation in the last 20 days of life, and one-half of GOC documentation in the final 2 days of life. Although the majority of AYA patients receiving HSCT did have documentation of ADs/MOs, few patients had documented GOC or other ACP conversations. The bulk of all ACP conversations occurred in patients that ultimately died and who were very close to the end of life. Our results support ongoing efforts to improve the implementation of ACP in this vulnerable population, particularly for those undergoing HSCT for nonmalignant conditions.

Pennarola BW ，Fry A ，Prichett L ，Beri AE ，Shah NN ，Wiener L ... -  《-》

Changing Rates of Goals of Care Designations in Patients With Advanced Pancreatic Cancer During a Multifactorial Advanced Care Planning Initiative: A Real-World Evidence Study.

Anaka M ，Lee M ，Lim E ，Ghosh S ，Cheung WY ，Spratlin J ... -  《-》

Discussion and documentation of future care: a before-and-after study examining the impact of an alternative approach to recording treatment decisions on advance care planning in an acute hospital.

To determine whether discussion and documentation of decisions about future care was improved following the introduction of a new approach to recording treatment decisions: the Universal Form of Treatment Options (UFTO). Retrospective review of the medical records of patients who died within 90 days of admission to oncology or respiratory medicine wards over two 3-month periods, preimplementation and postimplementation of the UFTO. A sample size of 70 per group was required to provide 80% power to observe a change from 15% to 35% in discussion or documentation of advance care planning (ACP), using a two-sided test at the 5% significance level. On the oncology ward, introduction of the UFTO was associated with a statistically significant increase in cardiopulmonary resuscitation decisions documented for patients (pre-UFTO 52% to post-UFTO 77%, p=0.01) and an increase in discussions regarding ACP (pre-UFTO 27%, post-UFTO 49%, p=0.03). There were no demonstrable changes in practice on the respiratory ward. Only one patient came into hospital with a formal ACP document. Despite patients' proximity to the end-of-life, there was limited documentation of ACP and almost no evidence of formalised ACP. The introduction of the UFTO was associated with a change in practice on the oncology ward but this was not observed for respiratory patients. A new approach to recording treatment decisions may contribute to improving discussion and documentation about future care but further work is needed to ensure that all patients' preferences for treatment and care at the end-of-life are known.

Malyon AC ，Forman JR ，Fuld JP ，Fritz Z ... -  《-》

Effect of the PREPARE Website vs an Easy-to-Read Advance Directive on Advance Care Planning Documentation and Engagement Among Veterans: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Sudore RL ，Boscardin J ，Feuz MA ，McMahan RD ，Katen MT ，Barnes DE ... -  《-》