Informing Decisions in Chronic Critical Illness: A Randomized Control Trial (RCT)

October 28, 2015 updated by: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
The purpose of this study is to test a communication intervention to support family decision-making for patients with chronic critical illness.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Increasing use of intensive care therapies by an aging population has created a new medical syndrome - "chronic critical illness" - encompassing multi-system derangements, recurrent complications, and protracted/permanent dependence on mechanical ventilation and other life-supports. Numbering >100,000 at any point in time, the chronically critically ill are a growing population of older adults and a serious national health problem. Annual expenditures for these patients are estimated at $24 billion, mostly for patients ≥ 65 years old. Yet 6-month mortality rates exceed those for most malignancies, impairments are severe among survivors, and return to the community is rare. Descriptive research has identified domains of information that are important for decision-making by patients/families about continuation of treatment in the chronic phase of critical illness, but has also revealed that decisions are often made without this information or patient goals of care as a context. In acute critical illness, scheduled, structured meetings and printed informational aids are effective for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) families, but no study has tested an intervention to inform and support decision-making about chronic critical illness. This study is a randomized, controlled, multi-center clinical trial of such an intervention. Specific Aims are: (1) To evaluate the impact on family- and patient-focused outcomes of a proactive program of protocolized, interdisciplinary, informational support meetings led by a palliative care physician, plus a printed informational aid, for families of chronically critically ill patients; and (2) To evaluate the impact of this intervention on utilization of critical care resources for the chronically critically ill. We hypothesize that as compared to usual care plus the printed aid, this intervention will effectively inform decision-making, improve family well-being, promote discussion of preferences for patient goals of care, and optimize critical care resource utilization, without increasing patient mortality.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
622

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10029
        • Icahn School Of Medicine At Mount Sinai
    • North Carolina
      • Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, 27599
        • University of North Carolina School of Medicine
      • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27710
        • Duke University School of Medicine
      • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27704
        • Durham Regional Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Mechanically ventilated ≥ 7 days
  • Mechanically ventilated without > 96 hour interruption
  • Age ≥ 21 years
  • ICU MD does not expect patient will die within 72 hours
  • ICU MD does not expect patient will be liberated from the ventilator within 72 hours.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Previous admission to study ICU this hospitalization Mechanically ventilated at outside hospital for > 7 days before transfer
  • Chronic Neuromuscular (NM) Disease
  • Trauma
  • Burn
  • Previous palliative care consultation in this hospitalization
  • No family or other surrogate decision-maker
  • Family not available
  • Surrogate lacks English proficiency
  • Physician refused permission for research staff to approach the family

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
No Intervention: Usual Care Group
Experimental: Supportive Information Team Group
Protocolized information and support meetings led by palliative care clinicians
Behavioral: Supportive Information Team Group
A minimum of two protocolized, interdisciplinary, informational support meetings led by palliative care clinicians will be arranged with family members or other patient surrogates who participate in decision-making for individual chronically critically ill patients.
Other Names:
  • SIT

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale
Time Frame: Day 90
Day 90

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mortality
Time Frame: Day 90
Day 90
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale
Time Frame: Day 18-20
Day 18-20
Impact of Events Scale-Revised
Time Frame: Day 90
Day 90
Discussion of Preferences for Patients Goals of Care
Time Frame: Day 18-20
Subscale of Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research Toolkit
Day 18-20
Quality of Communication
Time Frame: Day 18-20
Curtis Measure
Day 18-20
Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Survey
Time Frame: Day 90
Day 90
Modified Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research (CHCR) Tool
Time Frame: Day 90
Day 90
Limitation of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Therapy
Time Frame: Average of 60 days
Percent of patients with mechanical ventilation, renal replacement, vasopressors, or artificial nutrition withheld or withdrawn
Average of 60 days
Hospital Length of Stay
Time Frame: Average of 60 days
Days since randomization
Average of 60 days
Physician-Surrogate Discordance Score
Time Frame: day 18-20
day 18-20
Discussion of Preferences for Patients Goals of Care
Time Frame: Day 90
Subscale of Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research Toolkit
Day 90

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Duke University
University of North Carolina

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Judith Nelson, MD, JD, Icahn School Of Medicine At Mount Sinai

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 22, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 27, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 28, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 29, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 28, 2015

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 08-0601 0001 01 ME
  • R01NR012413-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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