Symptom-based clusters in patients with advanced chronic organ failure identify different trajectories of symptom variations.

Background: Healthcare needs are complex and heterogeneous in advanced chronic organ failure. However, based on symptom clusters, groups of patients with similar quality of life, care dependency and life-sustaining treatment preferences can be identified.

Aims: To evaluate the stability of symptom-based clusters over time, and whether and to what extent the clusters are able to predict patients' 2-year survival and hospitalization rates.