Effectiveness of Palliative Care Services in Symptom Control of Patients with Advanced Terminal Cancer: A Spanish, Multicenter, Prospective, Quasi-Experimental, Pre-Post Study

Context In implementing the National Strategy of Palliative Care in Spain, there needs to be an evaluation of services, especially of their effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction of patients and families. Objectives To assess the effectiveness of palliative care services (PCS) in improving symptom control in Spain. Methods This multicenter, prospective, quasi-experimental, pre-post intervention study evaluated symptoms, such as pain, breakthrough pain, anorexia, nausea/vomiting, constipation, insomnia, dyspnea at rest and with movement, anxiety, and depression, using patient-reported numeric rating scales on Days 0, 7, and 14 after referral to a PCS. Results Of the 318 PCSs included in the National Directory for 2004, 105 services in the 17 autonomous regions of Spain were able to report 265 eligible (treatment-naive) patients. Nonparticipation by some centers was because of excessive workload or because their patients were not treatment-naive. Median survival was 42 days. Pain severity and number of crises of breakthrough pain significantly improved, as did other indicators of patient satisfaction. Symptom improvement was independent of type of service (in acute bed hospitals, medium-term stay facilities, hospital support teams, home care support teams, and outpatient clinics). Conclusion Our national plan appears to be successful in reducing symptoms irrespective of the type of organization providing the PCS. An area for improvement could be to lessen the workload of individual teams.