Nomogram Predicts Short-Term Palliative Survival Using CRP, eGFR, and Functional Status

Accurately estimating the remaining lifespan of patients in palliative care is a fundamental component of high-quality end-of-life management, yet it remains one of the most challenging tasks for practicing clinicians. While prognostic accuracy is highly valued by patients and their families, systematic reviews indicate that physicians and nurses frequently struggle to provide reliable survival timelines [1]. Even widely used screening tools, such as the "Surprise Question," demonstrate significant variability in accuracy across different clinical settings [2]. Identifying appropriate candidates for palliative interventions often relies on a complex assessment of disease trajectory, physical symptoms, and functional performance [3]. As the population of patients with advanced, life-limiting illnesses continues to grow, the need for objective tools to guide these difficult clinical conversations has become increasingly urgent [4]. To address this gap, researchers recently investigated whether combining specific objective biomarkers with functional assessments could improve the precision of short-term mortality predictions.