Impact of Palliative Care Timing on Costs and Interventions in Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation

Key Points

• To evaluate how early palliative care affects healthcare costs and interventions during prolonged mechanical ventilation.
• Analyzed cost differences between early and late palliative care
• Assessed treatment aggressiveness in prolonged mechanical ventilation cases
• Considered sociodemographic factors influencing access to care
• Early palliative care significantly reduced aggressive treatments
• Health care costs were lower in subjects who received early care
• Disparities in access to palliative care were identified across sociodemographic groups