Trajectories of Activities of Daily Living in the Last Eight Weeks of Life Among Patients With Terminal Cancer in a Palliative Care Unit: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background: Although cancer patients' activities of daily living (ADL) are reported to decline before death, ADL trajectories have not been sufficiently clarified due to limitations in the assessment and analysis methods. Objectives: To clarify the multiple trajectories of ADL in patients with terminal cancer using a comprehensive assessment measure. Design: This was a retrospective observational study. Setting/Study Subjects: Cancer patients aged ?18 years discharged at death from a single-center palliative care unit. Measurements: Functional Independence Measure (FIM) total scores for eight weeks retrospectively. Results: In total, 306 patients were analyzed. Group-based trajectory modeling analysis estimated four groups as the best model for the FIM trajectory over eight weeks using the following trajectories: (1) a No Decline group, in which ADL did not decline until just before death; (2) a Rapid Decline group, in which ADL declined rapidly two weeks before death from a trajectory similar to the No Decline group; (3) a Moderate Disability and Slow Decline group, in which the patient slowly declined from requiring mild-to-severe assistance; and (4) a Severe Disability group, in which the patient continuously required severe assistance. Conclusions: Multiple ADL trajectories were identified in the last eight weeks of life of patients with terminal cancer. These findings suggest that palliative care needs to be tailored to the characteristics of each patient.

Keywords

• activities of daily living
• cancer
• palliative care
• terminal care