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Analysis of institutional authors

Viladot, MargaritaAuthorMarco-Hernandez, JavierAuthorPadrosa, JoanAuthorPascual, AnaisAuthorFont, ElenaAuthor
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Evolution of Complexity of Palliative Care Needs and Patient Profiles According to the PALCOM Scale (Part Two): Pooled Analysis of the Cohorts for the Development and Validation of the PALCOM Scale in Advanced Cancer Patients

Publicated to:Cancers. 16 (9): 1744- - 2024-05-01 16(9), DOI: 10.3390/cancers16091744

Authors: Tuca, A; Viladot, M; Carrera, G; Llavata, L; Barrera, C; Chicote, M; Marco-Hernandez, J; Padrosa, J; Zamora-Martinez, C; Grafia, I; Pascual, A; Font, C; Font, E

Affiliations

Hosp Clin Barcelona, La Caixa Fdn EAPS, Psychosocial Support Team, Barcelona 08036, Spain - Author
Univ Barcelona, Chair Palliat Care, Barcelona 08036, Spain - Author
Univ Barcelona, Hosp Clin, Med Oncol Dept, Unit Support Care Canc, Barcelona 08036, Spain - Author
Univ Barcelona, Translat Genom & Targeted Therapies Solid Tumors, IDIBAPS, Barcelona 08036, Spain - Author

Abstract

Introduction: Identifying the complexity of palliative care needs is a key aspect of referral to specialized multidisciplinary early palliative care (EPC) teams. The PALCOM scale is an instrument consisting of five multidimensional assessment domains developed in 2018 and validated in 2023 to identify the level of complexity in patients with advanced cancer. (1) Objectives: The main objective of this study was to determine the degree of instability (likelihood of level change or death), health resource consumption and the survival of patients according to the level of palliative complexity assigned at the baseline visit during a 6-month follow-up. (2) Method: An observational, prospective, multicenter study was conducted using pooled data from the development and validation cohort of the PALCOM scale. The main outcome variables were as follows: (a) instability ratio (IR), defined as the probability of level change or death; (b) emergency department visits; (c) days of hospitalization; (d) hospital death; (e) survival. All the variables were analyzed monthly according to the level of complexity assigned at the baseline visit. (3) Results: A total of 607 patients with advanced cancer were enrolled. According to the PALCOM scale, 20% of patients were classified as low complexity, 50% as medium and 30% as high complexity. The overall IR was 45% in the low complexity group, 68% in the medium complexity group and 78% in the high complexity group (p < 0.001). No significant differences in mean monthly emergency department visits (0.2 visits/ patient/month) were observed between the different levels of complexity. The mean number of days spent in hospital per month was 1.5 in the low complexity group, 1.8 in the medium complexity group and 3.2 in the high complexity group (p < 0.001). The likelihood of in-hospital death was significantly higher in the high complexity group (29%) compared to the medium (16%) and low (8%) complexity groups (p < 0.001). Six-month survival was significantly lower in the high complexity group (24%) compared to the medium (37%) and low (57%) complexity groups (p < 0.001). Conclusion: According to the PALCOM scale, more complex cases are associated with greater instability and use of hospital resources and lower survival. The data also confirm that the PALCOM scale is a consistent and useful tool for describing complexity profiles, targeting referrals to the EPC and managing the intensity of shared care.

Keywords
AdultAdvanced cancerAgedAmerican societyAnorexiaAnxietyArticleBurnoutCancer patientComplexity of care needsEarly palliative careEmergency wardEndEsmFemaleFollow upHealth care planningHospital mortalityHospitalizationHumanInsomniaIntegrationIntegration of palliative care in oncologyLife expectancyMajor clinical studyMaleMortalityMulticenter studyObservational studyOf-lifeOutcomesPainPalliative therapyPredictive modelPredictive model of complexitPredictive model of complexityPrevalenceRisk factorSpecialist palliative careSystem

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Cancers due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2024 there are still no calculated indicators, but in 2023, it was in position 78/322, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Oncology.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2025-05-09:

  • WoS: 3
  • Scopus: 4
Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-05-09:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 16.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 16 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 17.65.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 28 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Tuca, Albert) and Last Author (Font Puig, Carme).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Tuca, Albert.