ICU Triage Practices in a Cancer Hospital

The primary objective of this study is aimed at analyzing the ICU triage practices of clinicians at a cancer hospital with and without the use of an algorithm-based triage tool, and to assess whether or not the triage tool improves the consensus amongst practioners on the prioritization of patients for ICU admission. Secondary objectives include assessment of whether or not triage practices based on guidelines correlate with what is done in actual practice.

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Key information

Conditions

Intensive Care Units Triage

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

5th International Oncology Course Conference, Manta, Manabí Province, Ecuador

About this study

This is a prospective study designed to evaluate the ICU triage practices of clinicians at MD Anderson Cancer Center using the standard Society of Critical Care Medicine Prioritization Model (SCCMP) versus a uniquely designed flowchart-based triage tool created specifically for the oncologic setting.

Study participants will initially receive either an email explaining the study and asking if they would agree to participate in the survey, or a hard copy of an identical letter. Their participation will remain anonymous, and will strictly be on a volunteer basis. If the participant wishes to participate, they will be given either a link to the survey using an institutionally improved electronic survey tool, or alternatively a hard copy of the survey with identical instructions.

The survey consists of 15 fictional patient case scenarios, and participants will be asked to use the modified SCCMP to prioritize each patient scenario into one of the 5-point likert-scale categories for admission. The participants will be randomized with 1:1 ratio to use either a) the standard SCCMP or b) the SCCMP in addition to a newly designed flowchart-based triage guide to prioritize each patient case scenario into one of the 5-point likert-scale categories.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Study participant must be a health care provider who frequently refers or accepts oncologic patients to the ICU

Exclusion criteria

none

Treatment and study plan

survey

Behavioral

Survey of 15 fictional patient case scenarios to be assessed by participant using the standard prioritization or modified SCCMP to prioritize each patient scenario into one of a 5-point likert-scale categories for ICU admission. SCCMP scale categorized as 1-Critically ill to 4-Less likely to require ICU.

Other names: Society of Critical Care Medicine Prioritization Model

Algorithm-based Triage Tool

Behavioral

Newly designed flowchart-based triage guide to prioritize each patient case scenario into one of the 5-point likert-scale categories, used in conjunction with SCCMP for ICU admission.

Primary outcomes

Agreement among clinicians for each of triage tools: SCCMP Standard versus SCCMP + Algorithm-based Triage Tool

Time frame: 20 minutes for participant survey completion

Survey responses used to evaluate the ICU triage practices of clinicians using the standard SCCMP versus a uniquely designed flowchart-based triage tool created specifically for the oncologic setting. Participants are randomized to use either a) the standard SCCMP or b) the SCCMP in addition to a newly designed flowchart-based triage guide to prioritize 15 fictional patient case scenarios into one of the 5-point likert-scale categories for admission.

SCCMP system defines those that will benefit most from the ICU (Priority 1) to those that will not benefit at all (Priority 4) from ICU admission. Reported proportion of clinicians choosing category i in the 5-point likert-scale, i=1, 2, 3, 4a or 4b, for a particular patient case. The range of the entropy is between 0 (perfect agreement among the clinicians) and 1.61 (total disagreement among the clinicians).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Triage Practices in a Cancer Hospital

Important dates

Study start: 2014
Primary completion: 2018
Study completion: 2018
First posted: Jan 17, 2018
Registry last updated: Feb 28, 2018

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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Completed