3 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The purpose of this study is to improve care in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) by focusing on communication with family members of patients who are too sick to make decisions about their own care while they are in the ICU. The randomized trial will test the efficacy of a communication intervention designed to improve communication between families and clinicians through the use of a facilitator. Outcome evaluation occurs at the level of the individual family with surveys completed by families and clinicians.
Cognitive skills are essential to live independently, manage finances, maintain employment, and function in society. Loss of these cognitive skills puts a tremendous burden on society as seen with dementias, Alzheimer's disease, and traumatic brain injury. The INSIGHT-ICU Study (Illuminating Neuropsychological dysfunction and Systemic Inflammatory mechanisms Gleaned after Hospitalization in Trauma-ICU Study) is the first comprehensive and longitudinal long-term cognitive impairment study after traumatic injury. The societal impact of long-term cognitive impairment after trauma is immense given that these patients are young and constitute a large proportion of employable adults.
Delirium is an acute confusional state characterized by fluctuating mental status, inattention, and either disorganized thinking or an altered level of consciousness. This form of organ dysfunction occurs in up to 50% of hospitalized patients and is associated with worsening mortality, prolonged hospital length of stay, higher health care costs, and accelerated functional and cognitive decline. Despite the negative consequences of delirium, the majority of cases are unrecognized by hospital physicians because it is not routinely screened for. In an effort to facilitate delirium screening, we sought to validate two brief delirium assessments (\<2 minutes) in the hospital setting.