Serious Illness Communication Practices in Glioblastoma: An Institutional Perspective

Abstract

Background:

Early, high-quality advance care planning discussions are essential for supporting goal-concordant care among glioblastoma (GBM) patients.

Objective:

Using mixed methods, we sought to characterize current serious illness (SI) communication practices at our institution.

Methods:

The electronic medical records of 240 deceased GBM patients cared for at the Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA between 2017 and 2019 were systematically reviewed for documented SI conversations about four domains: prognosis, goals, end-of-life planning, and code status. Patient outcomes and SI conversation characteristics were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Standardized interviews about GBM care were held with five clinicians. Interview transcripts were analyzed using grounded-theory coding to identify emergent themes.

Results:

Nearly all patients (96%) had at least one documented SI conversation (median: 4, interquartile range [IQR] 2–7), mostly outpatient with medical oncology physicians. Median timing of first SI conversation was 360 days before death. SI conversations were not significantly associated with patient outcomes, including inpatient death and hospice enrollment. Seven themes emerged from clinician interviews: balancing hope and reality, anticipatory guidance, neglect of the “big picture,” need for earlier conversations, care coordination, the role of clinical expertise, and communication training.

Conclusion:

SI conversations were documented early and often in our sample, but their quality was difficult to assess. Contrary to our quantitative findings, interviewees reported that SI conversations were late, infrequent, inadequate, and fragmented across specialties, failing to explore critical issues such as prognosis and functional decline.