Critical Illness Clinical Trials

While mortality in U.S. pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) is improving, surviving children frequently develop persistent physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments. Over half of critically ill children experience potentially preventable PICU-acquired morbidities, with mechanically ventilated children being at greatest risk. In critically ill adults, randomized trials have shown that progressive mobility, started early (within 3 days of initiating mechanical ventilation), decreases muscle weakness and the duration of mechanical ventilation. However, similar randomized studies have not been conducted in the PICU. The investigator's prior studies revealed that less than 10 percent of critically ill children at the highest risk of functional decline are evaluated by a physical or occupational therapist within 3 days of PICU admission. Given the interplay of sedation, delirium, sleep, and immobility in the PICU, single-component interventions, such as sedation protocolization, have not consistently shown benefit for decreasing mechanical ventilation duration. Thus, the investigators developed the first pediatric-specific, interprofessional intervention (PICU Up!) to integrate goal-directed sedation, delirium prevention, sleep promotion, and family engagement into daily PICU care in order to facilitate early and progressive mobility. The investigators have demonstrated the safety and feasibility of this pragmatic, multifaceted strategy in both single-site and multicenter pilot studies. Hence, the next phase of the investigators research is to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and delivery of the PICU Up! intervention across a range of PICU patients and health systems. The investigators propose a pragmatic, stepped-wedge, cluster randomized controlled trial that will include 10 academic and community hospitals in the United States, with the following Aims: 1) Evaluate if the PICU Up! intervention, delivered under real-world conditions, decreases mechanical ventilation duration (primary outcome) and improves delirium and functional status compared to usual care in critically ill children; and 2) Conduct a multi-stakeholder, mixed-methods process evaluation to identify key contextual factors associated with delivery of PICU Up!. If proven effective, the PICU Up! intervention has potential to profoundly change medical care in the PICU and substantially impact public health by improving outcomes for the growing number of pediatric survivors of critical illness. Read Less

VoiceLove is a phone application allowing family and patients to share information in a secure platform. This project will compare the VoiceLove app to usual care to learn about whether VoiceLove improves patient-family communication, family engagement, and ICU delirium. Read Less

The goal of this randomized control trial is to test an intervention designed to improve patient and family outcomes after critical illness compared to usual care. The intervention, called Post-Intensive Care Transitions, Rehabilitation and Family Support (PIC-TRFS) combines four elements: (1) health management; (2) rehabilitation; (3) social support; (4) care coordination. All patients and families enrolled in this study will have spent at least 48 hours in an ICU, be at risk for long-term functional impairment, and be discharged home. Although age of the patients will be restricted to those who are at least 50 years old and caregivers must be adults over 18 and all participants must speak English, the study will enroll all sexes, genders, races, and ethnicities. The main questions the study aims to answer are: 1. Compared to usual care, does PIC-TRFS improve patient quality of life at the end of the 6-month intervention period measured via PROMIS-Preferences (PROPr) score? 2. Compared to usual care, does PIC-TRFS improve patient physical, cognitive, and psychological functioning measured via PROMIS Physical, Cognitive, and Depression Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) at 6 and 12 months after discharge? Does it increase the number of days survivors spend alive at home in the 6 and 12 months after discharge? Does it improve patient and family trauma scores and dyadic quality of life, measured via the Impact of Events Scale-Revised and dyadic PROPr score? Participants will: * Complete Run-In assessments of symptoms and function in the hospital; * Be randomized to intervention or control; * Complete assessments of their function and quality of life at 0, 3, 6 and 12 months * Control participants will get a brochure on the Post-Intensive Care syndrome and complete the assessments on the same schedule as those receiving the intervention * Intervention participants will complete tele-health based check-ins providing health management, social support, and care coordination; and telehealth-based rehabilitation sessions focusing on patient functioning. Read Less

Up to 25% of intensive care unit (ICU) survivors experience cognitive impairment comparable in severity to mild Alzheimer's disease and related dementias after hospital discharge. Older ICU survivors (ages 60 and older) are at highest risk for delirium and subsequent cognitive impairment, which contribute to higher risk for cognitive decline related to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Sleep and activity are essential for recovery from critical illness, yet ICU survivors experience both sleep deficiency and profound inactivity. About 75-80% of ICU patients experience circadian dysrhythmia, which contributes to cognitive decline and increases likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The scientific premises of the proposed study are: 1) a combined sleep promotion and cognitive training intervention will have synergistic effects to mitigate the risk of cognitive impairment and development of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in older ICU survivors; and 2) chronotherapeutic timing of interventions (i.e., adjusting timing of interventions according to circadian rhythm) may improve intervention efficacy. Read Less

The goal of this study is to investigate whether embedding a hospice and palliative care practitioner within a medical intensive care unit will improve patient outcomes and healthcare usage. The practitioner will work solely within the medical intensive care units and offer timely as well as proactive consultations based on clinical criteria and estimated mortality risk. The study team will compare patients seen by the practitioner to patients in an adjacent ICU and historical patients to determine whether patient care is improved by this intervention. Read Less

This pilot feasibility study will be a randomized control trial of usual care following Intensive Care Unit (ICU) discharge compared to the Anticipating Decline and Providing Therapy (ADAPT) screening and support intervention. The trial aims to enroll 120 older adults (age 60 or older). Read Less

Alerts related to outlier clinician behavior are generated in real-time by an intelligent system continuously scraping EHR (electronic health record) data. These alerts are passed to the bedside and their potential impact on bedside clinical behavior is evaluated. Read Less

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if fasting or not fasting before a procedure has an effect on recovery in those who are critically ill. The main questions it aims to answer for patients on a breathing machine who are receiving tube feeding are: * Does the risk of lung complications and death differ between those who are not fasting, which may have a higher chance of allowing tube feeding to enter the lungs, and fasting, which temporarily stops nutrition before a procedure? * Is there a difference in recovery times, hospital stays, infection rates, need for organ support, safety, and nutrition for those who either fast or do not fast before a procedure? * What is the relationship between nutrition and clinical outcomes? Researchers will compare not fasting and fasting to see if it has an effect on recovery. Participants will: * Be assigned by chance (like a coin toss) to one of two groups. One group (fasting group) will have their tube feeding stopped at least 8 hours before their procedure. The other group (not fasting group) will have their tube feeding stopped right before their procedure. * Be monitored via medical record for amount of protein and calories received, and any complications related to fasting/not fasting. * Receive a phone call from the study team about 3 months after they enter the study to see how they are doing and complete a questionnaire. ' Read Less

The CR-AZI Study will assess the immunomodulatory effects of Azithromycin for pediatric Critical Asthma. Read Less

The overarching goal of the proposed study is to determine the trajectories of physical recovery and cellular markers involved with the underlying failure to recover muscle after critical illness, while exploring which characteristics are associated with sustained physical disability. This proposal will examine muscle pathophysiology carefully aligned with physical function outcomes in order to longitudinally assess the recovery, or failed recovery, of muscle function in participants after critical illness: 1. to examine the recovery of muscle and physical function in ICU survivors through longitudinal assessments 2. to investigate the underlying cellular markers and mechanisms of muscle recovery in ICU survivors 3. to determine which cellular markers contribute to physical disability in ICU survivors up to 1 year after hospital admission Read Less

The purpose of the study is to conduct a pilot randomized trial of a program designed to enhance equitable communication and emotional support for families of critically ill patients in order to determine feasibility, acceptability, and participant experience with the program. The primary study procedures include: chart abstraction, questionnaires, meetings with ICU support counselors, meetings with ICU physicians and care team, audio recordings of these meetings (optional), and interviews with study participants (optional). Study participants include: 70 critically ill patients with acute respiratory failure (enrolled with the consent of their Legally Authorized Representative) and their primary surrogate decision makers as well as ICU support counselors and ICU care teams (physicians, nurses, social workers). Read Less

A single center pilot trial investigating the feasibility of using actigraphy and salivary melatonin levels to measure the sleep and circadian rhythm of critically ill children aged 3 to 6 years old. This study will also measure the feasibility of providing daytime light exposure as well as restricting all provided nutrition to during daytime hours. Read Less