Patterns of medication use at end of life by pediatric inpatients with cancer

Objective To describe medication utilization patterns by pediatric inpatients with cancer during their last week of life. Methods This retrospective study used data from the Vizient Clinical Database/Resource Manager, a national compilation of clinical and resource use data from over 100 academic medical centers and affiliates. Patients (0‐21 years) with malignancy who died during hospitalization (2010‐2017) were included (N = 1659). Medications were categorized as opioid, benzodiazepine, gastrointestinal related, chemotherapy, anti‐infectives, or vasopressors. Exposure to each group was ascertained for all patients at 1 week and 1 day prior to death. Factors associated with exposure were examined using generalized estimating equations, and summarized using adjusted odds ratios (aORs). Results Over the last week of life, there was increased use of opioids (76% to 82%, aOR = 1.55, P