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Background Early readmissions among hospice patients remain common, despite goals to minimize them. This issue remains underexplored in the Middle East. This study describes the primary causes of hospital readmission from hospice settings and reports patient characteristics observed among readmitted cases at a comprehensive oncology center in Jordan. Results A total of 163 readmissions were analyzed, representing 133 unique patients. The median age was 59 years (range: 18–88), and 51.9% were female. 72.2% had at least one comorbidity, predominantly cardiovascular (83.3%). Gastrointestinal cancers were the most common primary diagnosis (27.8%). Prior to readmission, 71.8% were receiving home hospice care, and 63.8% had Full Code status. The median Palliative Performance Scale was 40. Uncontrolled conditions accounted for 56.4% of readmissions, primarily worsening infections, and uncontrolled pain, while unanticipated new medical issues contributed to 52.8%. Caregiver distress was documented in 12.3% of cases. More than half of patients (54.0%) died during hospitalization. Conclusions Within seven days of discharge, hospice patients in our center were readmitted most commonly for uncontrolled symptoms and new medical issues. These descriptive findings may help target quality improvement in symptom management, discharge planning, documentation of end‑of‑life preferences, and transitions between hospice and hospital services. Trial registration Not applicable.

Background Medications are commonly used for symptom control in cancer patients at the end of life. This study aimed to evaluate medication utilization among home care palliative patients with cancer at the end of life and assess the appropriateness of these medications. Method This retrospective observational study included adult cancer patients who received home care in 2020. Medications taken during the last month of the patient’s life were reviewed and classified into three major categories: potentially avoidable, defined as medications that usually have no place at the end of life because the time to benefit is shorter than life expectancy; medications of uncertain appropriateness, defined as medications that need case-by-case evaluation because they could have a role at the end of life; and potentially appropriate, defined as medications that provide symptomatic relief. Results In our study, we enrolled 353 patients, and 2707 medications were analyzed for appropriateness. Among those, 1712 (63.2%) were classified as potentially appropriate, 755 (27.9%) as potentially avoidable, and 240 (8.9%) as medications with uncertain appropriateness. The most common potentially avoidable medications were medications for peptic ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux disease (30.5%), vitamins (14.6%), beta-blockers (9.8%), anticoagulants (7.9%), oral antidiabetics (5.4%) and insulin products (5.3%). Among the potentially appropriate medications, opioid analgesics were the most frequently utilized medications (19.5%), followed by laxatives (19%), nonopioid analgesics (14.4%), gamma-aminobutyric acid analog analgesics (7.7%) and systemic corticosteroids (6%). Conclusion In home care cancer patients, approximately one-third of prescribed medications were considered potentially avoidable. Future measures to optimize medication use in this patient population are essential.

In 2018, the Egyptian government initiated a massive hepatitis C screening and treatment program. The Ministry of Health set the goal of screening all adults (target population, 62.5 million) within 1 year and provided treatment paid for by the government. Nearly 50 million people participated in screening, and approximately 1 million patients were treated for HCV infection.