Indicators of potentially inappropriate end-of-life (EoL) care*
| Characteristic | Exposure group | Non-exposure group | Total population | P value |
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | ||
| Overall no. of decedents | 16 967 (39) | 26 100 (61) | 43 067 (100) | |
| Inappropriate EoL care† | ||||
| Yes | 2732 (16) | 11 772 (45) | 14 504 (34) | <0.001 |
| No | 14 235 (84) | 14 328 (55) | 28 563 (66) | |
| Indicators | ||||
| ≥2 emergency room visits | 1024 (6) | 4069 (16) | 5093 (12) | <0.001 |
| ≥2 hospital admissions | 755 (4) | 3040 (12) | 3795 (9) | <0.001 |
| >14 days of hospitalisation | 451 (3) | 2852 (11) | 3303 (8) | <0.001 |
| Chemotherapy | 526 (3) | 1556 (6) | 2082 (5) | <0.001 |
| ICU admission | 200 (1) | 2246 (9) | 2446 (6) | <0.001 |
| Hospital death | 1382 (8) | 7194 (28) | 8576 (20) | <0.001 |
| Mean composite score‡ | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.7 | |
| Initiation of palliative care (mean)§ | 4.5 | 0.7 | 2.7 |
*In the last 30 days before death.
†Qualification is rendered positive when 1 out of 6 indicators is scored.
‡Total amount of six indicators divided by number of patients receiving potentially inappropriate end-of-life care.
§In months before death.
ICU, intensive care unit.