Associations between end-stage ALS care and specialty palliative care: A hypothesis-generating study

Associations between end-stage ALS care and specialty palliative care: A hypothesis-generating study
Muscle and Nerve; Christi M Lero, Annabelle Yang, Elyse Everett, Kyle A Pitzer, Kelly McCoy Gross, Karla T Washington; 2/25
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) care is typically delivered via a multidisciplinary approach that may include specialty palliative care (SPC). Patients who received SPC (59%), had lower mean forced vital capacity ... , and more often used respiratory support ... , participated in goals of care conversations ... , reported a healthcare proxy ... , and enrolled in hospice ... than patients who received standard care alone. No differences between groups were found in duration of illness (mean = 51.7 months), use of assistive feeding, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) scores, ... documentation of a healthcare proxy, length of hospice stay (mean = 47.3 days), or location of death.