Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion

Veterans who are screened for frailty and then receive palliative care consultation before elective surgery live longer, according to new research.

Pre-Surgical Palliative Care Review Benefits Frail Veterans

Veterans who are screened for frailty and then receive palliative care consultation before elective surgery live longer while reporting fewer symptoms, according to new research led by VA HSR&D investigators.

Traditionally, palliative care has focused on increasing the comfort of patients approaching death. This study, which appeared in the Sept. 10 issue of JAMA Surgery, found significant benefits when an entirely new demographic—frail patients awaiting elective surgery—received palliative care consultations.

“Frail patients have health issues typically associated with aging—including loss of strength, coordination and cognitive and emotional capacity," said VA Pittsburgh Surgeon Daniel Hall, MD, MDiv, MHSc, a Core Investigator with the VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion. "In the past, palliative care was typically reserved for those cases where something has gone wrong after surgery. Our study suggests that routine use of palliative care before an elective surgery can actually extend their lives."

In addition to helping patients live longer, pre-surgical palliative care techniques may help care teams better analyze the impact that an impending surgery will have on a patient's quality of life.

Hall is the second author on the study, which reviewed 310 palliative care consultations from 2006 to 2013 and is available at jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1900900

For more about Dr. Hall and his research, go to:  http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/publications/research_briefs/default.cfm?Issue=10/01/2013&Copy=publications/research_briefs/ResBrfOnline_1013.cfm