Proactive Ethics Intervention to Improve Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Care

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Intensive Care Unit Days

In brief

The primary aim of the study is to demonstrate the value of a preemptive approach to ethics consultation in an ICU. The investigators hope to answer the question: Will proactive ethics interventions by a skilled and experienced ethicist, participating in treatment discussions with physicians and nurses, as well as discussions with patients/surrogates, improve the quality of ICU care experienced by patients requiring prolonged treatment in the ICU (5 days or longer) by increasing their perceived quality of care and reducing the length of stay in the ICU by non-survivors? The study is a randomized trial of the use of an ethics consultant to address latent or manifest ethical issues in patients who remain in the ICU for five days or more, as compared to usual care. The investigators are testing the hypothesis that expanding the role of ethics consultations in the ICU to make them proactive will improve the process and outcomes of patient care by shortening the length of stay in non-survivors, and reducing suffering and unwanted and/or unnecessary aggressive treatments.

Key facts

Study ID
NCT00996814
Run by
California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute
People needed
386
Starts
2007-10-01
Expected to finish
2010-02-01
Last updated by the study team
2012-01-11

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

You may not qualify if…

Where it is running

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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