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Clinical Pathology Differences in Laboratory Utilization in Hospice and Nonhospice Units

INCa-Instituto Nacional de Câncer, Hospital do Câncer IV, Unidade de Cuidados Paliativos, Divisão Técnico Científica, Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, leaugust{at}yahoo.com.br

Pedro L. Fernandes, PhD

INCa-Instituto Nacional de Câncer, Hospital do Câncer IV, Unidade de Cuidados Paliativos, Divisão Técnico Científica, Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Paulo C. Muniz, PhD

INCa-Instituto Nacional de Câncer, Hospital do Câncer IV, Unidade de Cuidados Paliativos, Divisão Técnico Científica, Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Dione Prates, AS

INCa-Instituto Nacional de Câncer, Hospital do Câncer , Laboratório de Análises Clínicas, Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A significant difference can be observed between hospice and nonhospice philosophy. Nonhospice units direct its effort to cure and sustain patient's life using disease-modifying therapeutic procedures, while hospice units focus on patient's quality of life. However, despite the differences between the 2 basic philosophies in question, both approaches share 1 aspect in common: the correct diagnosis of the patient. In any case above, laboratory analysis is a valuable tool. This work aims to compare the laboratory utilization between nonhospice cancer and hospice cancer units. Laboratory requests from patients within a 1-year period were evaluated and the hospice laboratory profile was presented. We demonstrated that nonhospice unit had a major volume of requested laboratory test than hospice unit, but for inpatients this difference was not so dramatic.

Key Words: clinical laboratory • palliative care • resource utilization • hospice care • end of life • laboratory utilization

American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, Vol. 26, No. 2, 79-83 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1049909109332092


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