Palliative Care Intervention for Patients With End-Stage Liver Disease

In patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD), does palliative care delivered by trained hepatologists differ from that provided by palliative care specialists?In this cluster trial of 935 participants, palliative care delivered by trained hepatologists did not demonstrate superiority but was found to be noninferior to palliative care delivered by specialists in improving quality of life at 3 months.Hepatologist-delivered palliative care achieved outcomes comparable with specialist-delivered palliative care, supporting 2 effective evidence-based models for early palliative care delivery for patients with ESLD; these findings allow health systems a choice for implementation, aligned with their staffing and workflows.

Corresponding Author: Manisha Verma, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine, Jefferson Einstein Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University, Korman B-21, 5501 Old York Rd, Philadelphia, PA 19141 (manisha.verma@jefferson.edu).

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