Frequency of unmet physical needs in patients with chronic oncological or cardiovascular diseases in Popayán, Colombia

Introduction: Palliative care (PC) is essential for the management of patients with chronic and oncologic diseases. In turn, PC requires proper identification of physical needs and symptoms, which can be achieved through standardized instruments that allow for a comprehensive assessment of the patients’ current condition.

Objective: To determine the frequency of unmet physical needs (UMPNs) in patients with chronic cardiovascular (CVD) or oncologic diseases treated in the inpatient wards of a university hospital in Popayán, Colombia.

Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 441 patients with chronic cardiovascular disease or cancer as their primary diagnosis admitted to the Hospital San José in Popayán between 2021 and 2022. The presence of UMPN was determined based on the responses to the 21 items of the Physical Symptoms domain of the validated Colombian version of the Sheffield Profile for Assessment and Referral for Care (SPARC-Sp) instrument.

Results. Of the 441 patients, 340 (77.10%) had chronic cardiovascular disease as their primary diagnosis. Pain was the most frequent UMPN (56.00%), followed by fatigue (41.95 %), and the feeling of being unable to control symptoms (38.09 %). The median UMPN was 4 (IQR: 2-7). The proportion of individuals with UMPN was higher in the cancer patient group in 18 of the 21 items. Consequently, cancer patients had more UMPNs (median UMPN: 7 [IQR: 4-9] vs. 3 [IQR: 1-7]; p<0.001).

Conclusion: Most patients experienced UMPNs, especially in the oncology group, with a significantly higher median and a higher proportion of individuals with UMPNs in 18 of the 21 items of the SPARC-Sp.