Variability in frequency of consultation and needs assessed by PC services across multiple specialty ICUs

Purpose: Although studies have examined multiple aspects of implementing palliative care in an intensive care unit (ICU) setting, how different types of specialty ICU physicians use palliative care consultations is unknown. Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective study from August 2013 - August 2015 to assess differences in use of palliative care consultation among specialized ICUs. We assessed the percentage of patients admitted to each ICU who received a palliative care consultation, the primary reason(s) for consultation, and additional needs addressed during consultation. ICU differences were compared using Chi-squared and Fisher’s exact tests. Results: Among 13,344 admissions to all ICUs, 689 patients (5.2%) received a palliative care consultation. These patients had an in-hospital mortality of 53.1%. Consultation rates differed significantly between ICUs, with 9.8% of patients in the medical ICU (MICU) receiving consultation versus 2.0% in the cardiothoracic ICU (CTICU) and 1.9% in the neurological ICU (NICU) (p