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A Study of Communication Between Clinicians, Patients, and Families in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

NCT06042621 · Status: ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 7818

Last updated 2026-02-05

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate a specific approach to patient care called a time-limited trial (TLT). This approach is sometimes used for people who develop critical illness and are cared for in an intensive care unit (ICU). A time-limited trial is a plan made together by medical teams, patients with critical illness (if they can take part), and their families or other important people helping to make their healthcare decisions. A time-limited trial starts with a discussion of the patient's goals and wishes. Then, a plan is made to use ICU treatments for a set period of time to give the patient the chance to recover. After this time, the patient's response to treatment will be reviewed to help guide what to do next.

Medical teams consider this kind of plan when it is not clear if a patient can recover to a quality of life that is acceptable to them. With a time-limited trial, patients, families, and medical teams experience this uncertainty together.

The main goal of this study is to find the best way to use TLTs for patients in the ICU who have trouble breathing and need mechanical ventilation to help them breathe. The hypothesis is that optimal time-limited trial delivery will reduce the time patients with acute respiratory failure spend in the ICU and will improve the intensive care unit experiences for their families and clinicians.

Conditions

  • Acute Respiratory Failure
  • Mechanical Ventilation
  • Life-Supporting Treatments
  • Communication
  • Decision Making
  • Critical Care
  • Palliative Care

Sponsors & Collaborators

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

    collaborator NIH

  • University of Wisconsin, Madison

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Jacqueline M Kruser, MD, MS · University of Wisconsin, Madison

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-01-17
Primary Completion
2028-03-31
Completion
2028-03-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06042621 on ClinicalTrials.gov