Overview
The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the effectiveness of a palliative care protocol in improving the quality of care of adult patients at high risk of dying hospitalized in the critical care unit.
Assessing symptom burden (dyspnea, pain and/or anxiety/agitation) until death or day 5 (whichever comes first)
Researchers will compare the impact of the palliative care protocol with standard care to see if it improves the quality of care.
Participants will:
- Symptom management.
- Respect for the autonomy of the patient and his/her family environment.
- Respectful management of clinical information.
- Provision of holistic care and support.
Description
We designed a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial The study is implementation in 5 Chilean hospitals, admitting 248 patients.
Pre-intervention (control): The practices of each ICU will be maintained, until the moment that according to randomization corresponds the beginning of the intervention, in each center.
Post-intervention: Palliative care protocol to improve the quality of care
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- 18 years old and older
- Hospitalization in critical care unit for more than 48 hrs.
- Medical indication of therapeutic effort limitation, defined as: a) Non-initiation or withdrawal of life support therapies: invasive mechanical ventilation, vasoactive drugs, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, renal replacement therapy.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Severe communication disorder and cultural language limitation (language other than Spanish).
- Absence of legal representative and/or caregiver.
- Brain dead patient.