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Active, Not Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT05523479

The Maximizing Extubation Outcomes Through Educational and Organizational Research (METEOR) Trial

The METEOR Trial will compare four implementation strategies-traditional online education, protocol-directed care, interprofessional education, and a combination of protocol-directed care and interprofessional education-to test the hypotheses that interprofessional education is superior to traditional online education as an implementation strategy in the intensive care unit (ICU) and the benefits of interprofessional education are increased when interprofessional education is paired with a clinical protocol. Additionally, the trial will also test the hypothesis that preventive post-extubation NIV for high-risk patients and preventive post-extubation HFNC for low-risk patients are both superior to current clinical practice (i.e., conventional post-extubation oxygen therapy).

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

Key information

Conditions

Acute Respiratory Failure Airway Extubation

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

UPMC Carlisle, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States

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About this study

Nearly one million patients require invasive mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure in the United States each year. Most of these patients will recover to the point of extubation, yet even those who are extubated remain vulnerable to complications and poor outcomes. Multiple high-profile randomized controlled trials have shown that two preventive post-extubation respiratory therapies-noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and high-flow nasal cannula oxygen (HFNC)-can prevent recurrent respiratory failure, reintubation, and death in this population. Despite this evidence, however, these therapies remain severely underutilized, leading to preventable morbidity and mortality. To address this implementation gap, the investigators will conduct the Maximizing Extubation outcomes Through Educational and Organizational Research (METEOR) Trial, a cluster-randomized, stepped-wedge, type 2 hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial of interprofessional education about preventive post-extubation NIV and HFNC with and without clinical protocols. The METEOR Trial was designed based on extensive preliminary studies, during which the investigators identified barriers to adoption of preventive post-extubation respiratory care and pilot tested interprofessional education as an implementation strategy in the ICU. These studies revealed that a major barrier to implementation is the lack of a shared understanding about the value of these therapies within the interprofessional ICU team; a theory-based interprofessional education intervention designed to create a shared understanding and support "transactive memory" among team members is both feasible and acceptable; and interprofessional education can be strengthened by linking it with a clinical protocol. During the METEOR Trial, the investigators will randomize ICUs to one of four implementation strategies: an active control, protocol-directed care, interprofessional education, or a combination of protocol-directed care and interprofessional education. In parallel, the investigators will randomize ICUs to one of two clinical strategies, one emphasizing either post- extubation NIV or HFNC based on patient risk vs. one emphasizing post-extubation HFNC for all patients.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • All adults treated with invasive mechanical ventilation >24 hours in participating ICUs

Exclusion criteria

  • None

Treatment and study plan

Traditional online education

Behavioral

A 30-60 minute, online, interactive, educational video that is customized to each provider type and offered with provider-specific continuing education credits

Interprofessional education

Behavioral

Interprofessional education (IPE) consists of both classroom-based IPE and just-in-time IPE. In classroom-based IPE, a trained physician educator with content expertise who works in the ICU leads a 60-to-90-minute, in-person, IPE workshop consisting of a 30-minute didactic session and a 30-to-60-minute small group session, during which participants work together to apply the content to authentic cases. The workshops, which are designed according to modern principles of adult learning and IPE, present the rationale and evidence supporting the preventive, post-extubation therapies. They are specifically designed to foster authenticity, reinforce role identity, and relate the content to life experience. In just-in-time IPE, trained local champions meet with the interprofessional ICU team each morning to identify eligible patients and, as needed, briefly review the evidence supporting proper use of the assigned preventive, post-extubation strategy.

Clinical protocol

Behavioral

An "adequately explicit" protocol provides specific rules for use of the preventive, post-extubation therapy based on patient data. A "ready-to-customize" version of the protocol with instructions to work with key local stakeholders to revise the protocol, accounting for local needs and resources, is provided. After local customization, a local champion then disseminates the protocol based on local practices.

Risk-stratified preventive post-extubation noninvasive ventilation (NIV) or high-flow nasal cannula oxygen (HFNC)

Other

Preventive post-extubation NIV for high-risk patients and preventive post-extubation HFNC for low-risk patients

Preventive post-extubation high-flow nasal cannula oxygen (HFNC)

Other

Preventive post-extubation HFNC for all eligible patients (without risk stratification)

Primary outcomes

  1. Rate of use of post-extubation NIV or HFNC among eligible participants (primary implementation outcome)

    Time frame: 60 days after initiating invasive mechanical ventilation

    Defined the number of participants who received post-extubation NIV or HFNC divided by the number of participants eligible for post-extubation NIV or HFNC

  2. In-hospital mortality truncated at 60 days from intubation (primary clinical outcome)

    Time frame: 60 days after initiating invasive mechanical ventilation

    Defined as the number of participants who died during hospitalization

Secondary outcomes

  1. Number of eligible participants receiving care from providers who completed an implementation intervention

    Time frame: Up to 3 years

    Defined as the total number of participants who received care from ICU providers (physicians, nurses, and/or respiratory therapists) who completed an implementation intervention (traditional online education, interprofessional education, and/or clinical protocol)

  2. Use of post-extubation NIV or HFNC among eligible participants 6 months after the implementation intervention (IPE plus protocol) is fully deployed

    Time frame: 6 months after the implementation intervention (IPE plus protocol) is fully deployed

    Defined the number of participants who received post-extubation NIV or HFNC divided by the number of participants eligible for post-extubation NIV or HFNC during the one-month period beginning 6 months after the implementation intervention (IPE plus protocol) is fully deployed

  3. 90-day survival

    Time frame: 90 days after initiating invasive mechanical ventilation

    Defined as time from initiating invasive mechanical ventilation to the date of death from any cause or last known follow-up (censored)

  4. ICU length of stay

    Time frame: 60 days after initiating invasive mechanical ventilation

    Defined as time from the time of initiating invasive mechanical ventilation to successful discharge from the ICU, where "successful" indicates that discharge was followed by at least 48 hours alive without ICU readmission

  5. Hospital length of stay

    Time frame: 60 days after initiating invasive mechanical ventilation

    Defined as time from the time of initiating invasive mechanical ventilation to successful hospital discharge, where "successful" indicates that discharge was followed by at least 48 hours alive without hospital readmission

  6. Post-extubation respiratory failure

    Time frame: 60 days after initiating invasive mechanical ventilation

    Defined as reintubation and resumption of invasive mechanical ventilation during the 48 hours after extubation

  7. Duration of mechanical ventilation

    Time frame: 60 days after initiating invasive mechanical ventilation

    Defined as time from the time of initiating invasive mechanical ventilation to successful extubation, where "successful" indicates that extubation was followed by at least 48 hours alive without reintubation

  8. 28-day ventilator-free days (VFDs)

    Time frame: 28 days after initiating invasive mechanical ventilation

    Defined as the number of days a participant was breathing without assistance from the day they of intubation (initiating invasive mechanical ventilation) to 28 days later, where "breathing without assistance" indicates that discontinuation of assisted breathing was followed by at least 48 hours alive without reintubation

  9. Ventilator-associated events (VAEs)

    Time frame: Up to 60 days after initiating invasive mechanical ventilation

    Defined as the number of participants who have a VAE according to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria divided by the number of participants who received invasive mechanical ventilation

  10. Organ failure (daily SOFA)

    Time frame: Up to 60 days after initiating invasive mechanical ventilation

    Defined as mean daily sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score from initiating invasive mechanical ventilation to up to 60 days later

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Other

Collaborators

  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Registry information

Acronym: METEOR

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Aug 31, 2022
Registry last updated
May 8, 2026

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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