ICU clinicians' early judgment of six-month recovery after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Validity of ICU Clinician's Appraisal of Proportionality in CPR

This project will test whether ICU doctors and nurses can, within the first 24 hours after admission, predict a patient's six-month brain recovery and quality of life after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Quick facts

• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 1000 (estimated)
• Ages: 18 Years and up
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: University Hospital, Ghent (Academic / other)
• Locations: 9 sites (Innsbruck and 8 other locations)
• Trial ID: NCT07026773 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This observational study asks ICU doctors and nurses who treat patients enrolled in the STEPCARE study to complete a brief questionnaire estimating six-month neurological outcome and quality of life based on clinical assessment during the first 24 hours after admission. Those clinician estimates will be compared to the actual neurological outcomes and patient-reported quality of life recorded by the STEPCARE study. The goal is to determine how well early bedside impressions match later, multimodal outcome data without changing patient care. No interventions are delivered as part of this study; it uses existing STEPCARE patients and clinician assessments at participating hospitals.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Patients included are adults treated for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who are enrolled in the international STEPCARE study and admitted to a participating ICU where their treating clinicians complete the questionnaire.

Not a fit: Patients who have in-hospital cardiac arrest, are not enrolled in STEPCARE, or whose outcomes are determined by immediate irreversible injuries are unlikely to benefit from this study's findings.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, earlier and more reliable clinician judgments could help align intensive care decisions with likely long-term outcomes, potentially reducing burdensome treatments and focusing resources on patients with better chances of meaningful recovery.

How similar studies have performed: Previous work on early clinician prognostication after cardiac arrest is limited and has produced mixed results, so this direct comparison with STEPCARE outcomes represents a relatively novel, pragmatic approach.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* Doctors and nurses working in the Intensive Care Unit treating patients included in the STEPCARE study (NCT 05564754)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Doctors and nurses who do not have a direct treatment relationship with a patient included in the STEPCARE study

Where this trial is running

Innsbruck and 8 other locations

• Medical University Innsbruck — Innsbruck, Austria (Not_yet_recruiting)
• Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg — Genk, Belgium (Recruiting)
• Ghent University Hospital — Ghent, Belgium (Recruiting)
• Helsinki University Central Hospital — Helsinki, Finland (Not_yet_recruiting)
• Universitätsklinikum Lübeck — Lübeck, Germany (Recruiting)
• Policlinico San Martino — Genova, Italy (Recruiting)
• Wakefield Hospital — Wellington, New Zealand (Recruiting)
• King Abdulaziz Medical City — Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Recruiting)
• Zürich University Hospital — Zurich, Switzerland (Not_yet_recruiting)

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Patrick Druwé, MD, PhD

Conditions Cardiac Arrest, Out-Of-Hospital; cardiac arrest; out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; cardiopulmonary resuscitation; appropriateness of care; frailty; perception; prognostication