%0 Journal Article
%T Age, gender, will, and use of home-visit nursing care are critical factors in home care for malignant diseases; a retrospective study involving 346 patients in Japan
%A Yuko Kodama
%A Tomoko Matsumura
%A Takuhiro Yamaguchi
%A Morihito Takita
%A Shohei Kawagoe
%A Yukihiro Kimura
%A Satoshi Hirahara
%A Hiroshi Suzuki
%A Hideki Ohta
%A Shigeru Onozawa
%A Tadashi Wada
%A Yukiyasu Nakamura
%A Kazushi Nakano
%A Masahiro Kami
%A Koichiro Yuji
%J BMC Palliative Care
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1472-684x-10-17
%X Of 607 patients who were treated in 10 clinics specialized in home care between January and December 2007 at Chiba, Fukuoka, Iwate, Kagoshima, Tochigi and Tokyo prefectures across Japan, 346 (57%; 145 men and 201 women) had malignant diseases. We collected information on medical and social backgrounds, details of home care, and its outcomes based on their medical records.Median age of the patients was 77 years (range, 11-102), and 335 patients were economically self-sufficient. Their general condition was poor; advanced cancer (n = 308), performance status of 3-4 (n = 261), and dementia (n = 121). At the beginning of home care, 143 patients and 174 family members expressed their wish to die at home. All the patients received supportive treatments including fluid replacement and oxygenation. Median duration of home care was 47 days (range, 0-2,712). 224 patients died at home. For the remaining 122, home care was terminated due to complications (n = 109), change of attending physicians (n = 8), and others (n = 5). The factors which inhibited the continuity of home care were the non-use of home-visit nursing care (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.78, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-3.00, p = 0.03), the fact that the patients themselves do not wish to die at home (HR = 1.83, CI: 1.09-3.07, p = 0.02), women (HR = 1.81, CI: 1.11-2.94, p = 0.02), and age (HR = 0.98, CI: 0.97-1.00, p = 0.02).Continuation of home care is influenced by patients' age, gender, will, and use of home-visit nursing.Most cancer patients prefer to die at home [1]. In response to the wishes of such patients, home care for terminally ill cancer patients has been developed since the 1990s, and studies on this issue are still increasing in number [2]. In home care, patients can be treated while taking into consideration the set of values and lifestyle habits of each individual.Home care has provided a new treatment option for cancer patients, while it remains unknown who are optimal candidates for this treatmen
%K palliative medicine
%K cancer
%K dementia
%K complication
%K performance status
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-684X/10/17