Palliative Care Consultation for Hospitalized Patients with Primary and Secondary Brain Tumors at a Single Academic Center.

Studies addressing palliative care delivery in neuro-oncology are limited. To compare inpatients with brain tumors who received palliative care (through referral or trigger) with those receiving usual care. Retrospective cohort study. Inpatients with primary or secondary brain tumors who did or did not receive palliative care at a U.S. medical center. Sociodemographic, clinical, and utilization characteristics were compared. Of 1669 brain tumor patients, 386 (23.1%) received palliative care [nontrigger: 246 (14.7%); trigger: 140 (8.4%)] and 1283 (76.9%) received usual care. Nontrigger patients were oldest (mean age 65.0 years; trigger: 61.1 years; usual care: 55.5 years;  < 0.001); sickest at baseline (mean Elixhauser comorbidity index 3.76; trigger: 3.49; usual care: 1.84;  < 0.001); and had highest in-hospital death [34 (13.8%), trigger: 10 (7.1%), usual care: 7 (0.5%);  < 0.001] and hospice discharge [54 (22.0%), trigger: 18 (12.9%), usual care: 14 (1.1%);  < 0.001]. Trigger criteria may promote earlier palliative care referral, yet criteria tailored for neuro-oncology are undeveloped.