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Advanced lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), are associated with substantial symptom burden, including persistent cough and dyspnea. Early palliative care referral has increased for patients with lung cancer based on studies showing it improves patient-centered outcomes, but little is known about palliative care use for patients with noncancerous terminal lung diseases. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, analyzed outpatient palliative care consultation and healthcare use in the 6 months before death among ≈1800 patients with lung cancer, COPD, or IPF.
Patients with COPD or IPF were less likely than patients with lung cancer to receive outpatie…