Collecting biological material from palliative care patients in the last weeks of life: a feasibility study.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of prospectively collecting biological samples (urine) from palliative care patients in the last weeks of life.

Setting: A 30-bedded specialist hospice in the North West of England.

Participants: Participants were adults with a diagnosis of advanced disease and able to provide written informed consent.

International palliative care experts' view on phenomena indicating the last hours and days of life.

Background: Providing the highest quality care for dying patients should be a core clinical proficiency and an integral part of comprehensive management, as fundamental as diagnosis and treatment. The aim of this study was to provide expert consensus on phenomena for identification and prediction of the last hours or days of a patient's life. This study is part of the OPCARE9 project, funded by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme.