Fischer et al used the CARING criteria to identify patients who may be candidates for palliative care. The authors are from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver.
CARING is an acronym for:
(C) cancer as primary diagnosis
(A) hospital admissions >= 2 within the past year for chronic illness
(R) residence in a nursing home
(I) intensive care unit (ICU) admission with multi-organ failure
(NG) meeting >= 2 noncancer hospice guidelines of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO)
An additional factor impacting survival is the patient's age.
Parameter
Finding
Points
cancer
no
0
yes
10
admissions
no
0
yes
3
nursing home resident
no
0
yes
3
ICU
no
0
yes
10
noncancer hospice
no
0
yes
12
age
< 55 years
0
55-65 years
1
66-75 years
2
> 75 years
3
total score =
= SUM(points for all of the criteria)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 41
Score
Risk Group
Probability of Death in 1 Year
<= 4
low
< 17.5%
5 to 12
medium
17.5 to 48%
>= 13
high
>= 49%
To read more or access our algorithms and calculators, please log in or register.
