Computer Simulated Atrial Fibrillation Tool

July 20, 2020 updated by: Ratika Parkash, Nova Scotia Health Authority

Computer Simulated Atrial Fibrillation Tool to Reduce Hospitalizations and Emergency Department Visits

This will be a before-after study, using a prospective cohort to evaluate the use of a virtual, patient-centered platform as compared to a historical cohort of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and if the education and support provided by the platform will reduce Emergency Department visits for AF.

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

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia affecting 1-2% of the population of the western world, increasing to 10% in patients above the age of 75. The lifetime risk for development of AF is 26% for men and 23% for women. It is associated with significant morbidity, mortality and cost, but also with a two-fold increase in mortality and a six-fold risk of stroke. Severity of symptoms for AF may range from a 'nuisance' feeling of palpitations to debilitating symptoms that affect quality of life, interfere with normal livelihood and significantly impair exercise tolerance to more severe symptoms (hemodynamic compromise and heart failure), which are associated with poor prognosis and increased mortality. Patients who are symptomatic pose the greatest burden to the health care system, often making repeated visits to the emergency room for treatment or repeated hospitalizations.

AF is known to be a chronic disease. The majority of patients have progressively more episodes of AF, or present with persistent AF. As with all chronic diseases, it cannot be cured but can be controlled with effective treatments. AF often occurs in the setting of other diseases, increasing the complexity in determining appropriate therapies. Most often, AF occurs in the setting of other cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, sleep apnea or a combination of the above. In order to effectively manage AF, a 'holistic' approach is necessary. Appropriate management of hypertension, sleep apnea, obesity, etc. is part of the mainstay of therapy for AF. This is part of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) AF guidelines recommendations stating: "underlying causes or precipitating factors for AF including hypertension should be identified and treated". Current guidelines suggest that AF treatment should focus on strategies to manage and control heart rate and rhythm. Exercise and physical activity have been shown to improve outcomes in patients with some cardiac conditions (ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure), but its effects on AF are still not clear.

The current Canadian health care system was designed to address acute illness, rather than chronic disease, which is impacting hospitalizations for symptomatic AF. There is not an AF clinic at the QEII Health Sciences Centre to assist with AF management after a patient has been seen by a specialist. The investigators propose to create, evaluate, refine and implement a virtual, patient-centered platform to guide patients with out-of-hospital management of atrial fibrillation, after evaluation by a specialist.

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.
94

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

  • Canada
    • Nova Scotia
      • Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3H 3A7
        • QE II Health Sciences Centre

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

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • can ambulate independently
  • provide informed consent
  • have documented symptomatic AF
  • are proficient in the English language
  • have access to a computer, tablet or smartphone

Exclusion Criteria:

  • unable to participate due to physical limitations
  • are planning to move during the period of study
  • have a medical condition making 1 year survival unlikely.

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

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: Virtual Platform
Patients will be provided with a computer simulated tool to assist with education and support relating to atrial fibrillation.
Other: Virtual Platform
The platform will direct patients to review the Canadian Cardiovascular Guidelines and the Heart & Stroke website for commonly asked questions relating to atrial fibrillation, as well as recommendations regarding nutrition and activity.
Other Names:
  • Computer simulated atrial fibrillation tool (CSAF Tool)
Device: AliveCor Heart Monitor
A substudy of patients enrolled into the CSAF Tool study who own a compatible smart phone will be randomized to the Alive Cor Heart Monitor plus the virtual platform versus the virtual platform alone. The purpose of this substudy is to assess the feasibility and effect of incorporating Alive COR into a virtual online patient-education platform on patients' quality of life and AF-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility of using the simulated AF clinic platform
Time Frame: 6 months
Assessing the percentage of patients who utilize the virtual patient platform on a regular basis to guide their management. A successful pilot will be defined as: 90% of patients use the platform at least once, 75% of patients use it at least twice over the six month follow up period.
6 months

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
Patient satisfaction
Time Frame: 6 months
Semi-quantitative data will be collected regarding patient satisfaction with the platform.
6 months

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.
Nova Scotia Health Authority

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.
Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada

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: Ratika Parkash, MD FRCPC, Nova Scotia Health Authority

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.
May 15, 2018

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.
December 31, 2019

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.
May 31, 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).
March 9, 2017

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.
March 9, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

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.
March 15, 2017

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.
July 22, 2020

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.
July 20, 2020

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.
July 1, 2020

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.
  • RP-003

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings