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Experienced clinicians recognize that certain findings, such as low functional status in cancer patients and congestive symptoms at rest in heart failure patients, predict short-term mortality. Several studies that were published in 2009 add to this prognostic ability.
In a study that involved 3700 nursing home residents who started hemodialysis, 58% died and 29% experienced substantial functional declines within 12 months after starting hemodialysis (JW Gen Med Oct 14 2009). In a study of 323 nursing home residents with advanced dementia (e.g., inability to recognize family members, minimal verbal communication, total functional dependence), 41% developed pneumonia, 86% had eating problems, and 55% died within 18 months. Among patients who …