Study of Palliative Care Consultations to Improve Care for Adults in the Intensive Care Unit

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to reduce suffering in intensive care units by studying palliative care consultations. It evaluates how effective and cost-efficient these consultations are for ICU patients, implementing a Europe-wide recommended palliative care practice. The study also includes anonymous surveys of doctors and nurses during both intervention and control phases across multiple centers. Participants in the intervention group will receive a complex approach including telemedical consultations by specialized palliative care experts, training for ICU staff in basic palliative care, and use of checklists to identify patients needing palliative care early. The control group will receive routine ICU treatment without these additional interventions. The study uses a cluster-randomized controlled design to assess the impact of these practices. During their ICU stay, patients will be monitored for length of stay, costs, symptom presence, organ failure scores, readmissions, and use of medical resources. Follow-ups extend up to three months to assess outcomes such as mortality, quality of life, communication satisfaction, and resource use. Staff and relatives will also be surveyed about care quality and experiences. The total observation period for some measures extends up to 34 months to evaluate long-term effects and ethical aspects of care.

Enhancing Palliative Care in ICU