[Problems of home hospice care related to duration--home hospice care for cancer patients who died at home within a week after the start of home hospice care].

The following results regarding the frequencies of home visits by nurses were obtained by comparing a group consisting of those who died within a week after the initiation of home hospice care (Short cases) and of those who had lived more than two weeks after starting the home hospice care (Control cases). 1) The frequencies of both scheduled and emergency home visits in Short cases were statistically higher than in Control ones. 2) Among the nurse's visits, scheduled home visits were of great importance leading not only to lessening the frequency of emergency visits but also to the palliation of anxiety for the patient/family. If the scheduled home visits were done appropriately, the frequency of emergency visits for the Short cases was just as low as for the Control cases. Thus, we reached the conclusion that home hospice care should start as soon as possible and that prolongation of inpatient care should be avoided.