Effect of Monitoring System Design on Response Time to Cardiac Arrhythmias

May 27, 2021 updated by: Duke University
To increase the potential for timely detection and treatment of cardiac events, hospitals have implemented a number of different cardio-respiratory monitoring methods for at-risk patients. The goal of this study is to compare different monitoring methods to determine the most efficient method to monitor hospitalized patients - the method that will lead to the quickest response to critical heart rhythms. The investigators will then test the efficiency of this monitoring method by implementing it in a new patient care unit.

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

Most patients in the hospital who are at lower risk for developing abnormal heart rhythms have their vitals signs (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure) measured intermittently, such as every 8 hours. In contrast, hospitalized patients who are at risk for cardiac arrest and other arrhythmias are put on telemetry to continuously monitor their heart rhythm. A telemetry monitor is a portable box that is attached to the patient's ECG leads and displays his or her heart rate and rhythm at a central station. The monitor sends an alarm when it detects an abnormal rhythm, notifying the person monitoring the patient to check on the patient. Monitor watchers are dedicated nurses or technicians who monitor a bank of displays . The watcher-to-patient ratio varies among hospitals, with a single watcher monitoring between 16 and 72 patients at one time. There are also variations in the additional tasks assigned to watchers, communication modalities between watchers and nurses (e.g., pagers, overhead speakers, landline and cell phones, or bi-directional voice communication badges), and alarm presentation to nurses (e.g., via bedside monitors, centrally located monitors, automated phone notifications, or none at all, relying on telemetry watchers for notifications).

A quick and efficient response to cardiac arrest is critical in order to increase the patient's chance of survival. There is a need for a better understanding of the impact on monitoring efficiency of factors such as the workload of monitor watchers, communication methods, and supportive technologies including alarms and automated notification systems. The objective of the proposed research is to identify and test determinants of efficient cardiac monitoring methods. There are 3 phases to the study:

  1. Characterize candidate monitoring methods (Phase 1). The investigators will study usual care for monitored patients in 6 hospital units. As part of their usual care these units have different monitoring methods. These methods vary in terms of 1) the location of the monitor watchers, 2) the means of communicating routine and life-threatening events (e.g., via pagers), and 3) monitor watchers' patient load and workload. For each of these 6 units, the investigators will collect data through interviews, observations, and 20 cardiac arrest simulations.
  2. Determine which monitoring method leads to consistently rapid response times to lethal arrhythmias (Phase 2). Using interview, observation, and simulation data collected in Phase 1, the investigators will develop a computer simulation model of each of the 6 monitoring methods that will allow them to identify the most efficient method.
  3. Test a new monitoring method (Phase 3). In one of the units we had previously conducted arrhythmia simulations, we will conduct 20 additional simulations after a change from remote telemetry monitoring to local nurse-based monitoring. We will evaluate whether response times decrease with the new monitoring method.

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.
250

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

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

18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Care providers including the individuals responsible for monitoring patients (monitoring technicians and nurses), individuals communicating life threatening events (monitoring technicians, health unit coordinators, and nurses) and the individuals responsible for the initial check on a patient in the event of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias (generally the patient's nurse).
  • Patients for whom cardiac monitoring was ordered by their physician.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • NA

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: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
  • Allocation: NA
  • Interventional Model: SINGLE_GROUP
  • Masking: NONE

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.
Experimental: Change in in-hospital cardiac monitoring method
Pre- and post-intervention, where the intervention is a change in in-hospital cardiac monitoring method
Other: In-hospital cardiac monitoring method
Method for monitoring hospitalized patients at risk for cardiac arrhythmias (non-ICU)

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
Response time to a simulated (not real) critical cardiac arrhythmia (pulseless ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation)
Time Frame: After critical arrhythmia is simulated (approximately 1-5 minutes)
After critical arrhythmia is simulated (approximately 1-5 minutes)

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.
Duke University

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.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

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: Noa Segall, PhD, Duke University

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 (Actual)

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.
September 1, 2015

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.
February 26, 2020

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.
February 26, 2020

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).
June 3, 2015

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.
June 8, 2015

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.
June 9, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

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.
June 1, 2021

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.
May 27, 2021

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.
May 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • Pro00053941
  • 1R01HS023387-01 (U.S. AHRQ Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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