S Afr Med J. 2014 Feb;104(2):138-41. doi: 10.7196/samj.7262.
To assess the need for palliative care among inpatients occupying acute beds in the public sector hospitals of the Cape Town Metropole.
A cross-sectional, contemporaneous, point-prevalence study was performed at 11 public sector hospitals in the Cape Town Metropole using a standardised palliative care identification tool. Data were collected on the socio-demographic characteristics, diagnoses, and prior and current care planning of patients.
The case notes of 1 443 hospital inpatients were surveyed, and 16.6% were found to have an active life-limiting disease. The mean age of the group was 56 years. The diagnoses were cancer in 50.8%, organ failure in 32.5%, and HIV/tuberculosis in 9.6%. The greatest burden of disease was in the general medical wards, to which an overall 54.8% of patients meeting the requirements for palliative care were admitted.
This study provides evidence for the need for palliative care services in public sector hospitals and in the health system as a whole. The young age of patients and the high prevalences of end-stage renal failure and HIV are unique, and the burden in the general medical wards suggests a focus for initial inpatient programmes.
评估开普敦都会区公立部门医院急性病床住院患者对姑息治疗的需求。
采用标准化姑息治疗识别工具，在开普敦都会区的 11 家公立部门医院进行横断面、同期、时点患病率研究。收集患者的社会人口统计学特征、诊断、既往和当前照护计划的数据。
调查了 1443 名住院患者的病历，发现 16.6%的患者患有活动性生命有限疾病。该组的平均年龄为 56 岁。诊断为癌症 50.8%、器官衰竭 32.5%、HIV/结核病 9.6%。疾病负担最大的是普通内科病房，符合姑息治疗条件的患者中有 54.8%总体上被收治到该病房。
本研究为公立部门医院乃至整个卫生系统提供了姑息治疗服务的需求证据。患者年龄较轻，终末期肾衰竭和 HIV 的患病率较高，普通内科病房的负担表明需要重点开展初始住院计划。
