P168 Primary Thromboprophylaxis in Noncancer Patients Admitted to a Geriatric Palliative Care Unit

Patients with end-stage, noncancer disease are increasing in prevalence on Palliative Care Units. The aim of this study is to compare venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in elderly patients with noncancer diagnoses to those with advanced cancer on a dedicated Palliative Care Unit. Our goal is to better characterize the use of VTE prophylaxis in noncancer palliative care patients to improve their quality of care in the future. This was a single-centre retrospective chart review for all patients admitted to and discharged from the Baycrest Health Sciences Palliative Care Unit in 2015. We measured the association between demographic data and palliative performance scale, admission source and length of stay in patients with cancer and noncancer diagnoses. 316 patients were included in the final analysis, 56 (17.7%) of whom had a noncancer diagnosis. VTE Prophylaxis was administered in 31.8% of the cancer patients and 26.8% of the noncancer patients (p=0.29). 211 (66.6%) of the patients were admitted from hospital while 96 (30.3%) were admitted from home. Patients admitted from hospital were more likely to receive VTE prophylaxis (39.8% vs 13.7%; p LT 0.05). Mean admission PPS score was 31.43 for noncancer and 36.04 for cancer patients (p LT 0.05). Length of stay was shorter for patients with a PPS LT 30 (18.64 vs 33.62 days; p LT 0.05). The rate of VTE prophylaxis in bedbound patients was similar to that in ambulatory patients (29.8% vs 32.2%; p=0.36). This study shows that VTE prophylaxis rates were similar between cancer and noncancer patients on a geriatric Palliative Care Unit. In addition, the rate was not significantly less for bedbound patients. There are no current guidelines to direct VTE prophylaxis decisions in noncancer Palliative Care Unit inpatients, but further research would help to better guide these decisions and minimize suffering for patients at the end of life.