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Heart FailureNCT02299180

Impact of Advance Care Planning on Care for Patients With Advanced Heart Failure

A study testing ACP in people with Heart Failure, run by Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School at 2 sites in Singapore.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Aims: Advance care planning (ACP) is considered to be one of the most promising interventions to enable patients with life limiting illnesses to receive treatment at the end of life (EOL) according to their own preferences and to promote EOL conversations between patients and their health care providers. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 21 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Heart Failure
What is being tested?
ACP
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
282 participants
Where
2 sitesSingapore
Study dates
Feb 2015to Jun 2018
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 21 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Patient participant:
  • Patients must be 21 years old or older and must be diagnosed with advanced heart failure (New York Heart Association Class III and IV). Patients must be aware of their diagnosis
  • Caregiver/Decision-maker participant: Subject must be 21 years old or older Participant must be either
  • appointed substitute decision maker or
  • most likely to be substitute decision maker for patient (if patient were to lose decision-making capacity)

Who cannot join

  • Patient participant: Patients must not have any psychiatric or cognitive disorders
  • Caregiver/Decision-maker participant: Cannot be a maid or foreign domestic worker

Trial locations and contacts

2 sites in 1 country.

Singapore2 sites
  • Singapore General Hospital

    Singapore, 169608

  • National Heart Centre Singapore

    Singapore, 169609

Other trials in Singapore

About this study

Official title: Impact of Advance Care Planning on Care for Patients With Advanced Heart Failure: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Aims: Advance care planning (ACP) is considered to be one of the most promising interventions to enable patients with life limiting illnesses to receive treatment at the end of life (EOL) according to their own preferences and to promote EOL conversations between patients and their health care providers. Through a 2-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) of patients with Class III and IV heart failure (New York Heart Association Functional Classification), we propose to assess:

  1. Whether patients in the ACP arm have a greater likelihood of receiving EOL care consistent with their preferences as stated in the latter of the last ACP document or the last patient interview, compared to patients in the control arm.
  2. Heath care costs during study duration between patients in ACP and control arms.
  3. Patient's understanding of own illness and their participation in decision making between the ACP and control arms.
  4. Patient's quality of life, anxiety and depression between ACP and control arms.
Read more

Methodology: A total of 254 patients with advance heart failure will be randomized to receive intervention (ACP arm; N=127) or usual care (control arm; N=127).

The RCT will be conducted at the National Heart Centre and Singapore General Hospital. Patients in both arms will be followed for one year or till death, whichever is earlier, and interviewed every 4 months during this duration.

Clinical Significance: If benefits of ACP are shown to add value through this trial, then this study will help to promote acceptance of ACP among patients and health care providers across Singapore and elsewhere.

Conditions
Heart Failure
Being tested
ACP
Keywords
Advanced care planning, End of life care
Medical subject headings
Heart Failure

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • ACPBehavioural

Study groups in NCT02299180
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Control armNo interventionThe control arm patients will not take part in ACP discussions and documentation, but will continue to receive usual care.
Intervention (ACP) armExperimentalThe patient and his/her family members will be referred to an ACP facilitator and will undergo ACP as an ongoing process, integrated with patient's care, from the facilitator, in coordination with a coordinator/nurse, and treating physician. The ACP facilitator will be certified in providing ACP and will possess sufficient knowledge of the risks, benefits, and harms of treatments and procedures available to the patient. The ACP facilitator will be supported by the physician with the specialized knowledge of treatment options, especially with regards to prognosis. Family members will be encouraged to be present during the ACP discussion so that the whole family unit will be able to explore goals, values and beliefs towards the patient's medical care.
Receives: Behavioral: ACP

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Proportion of patients receiving end of life care consistent with their stated preferences

    Patient's stated preferences for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and life prolonging treatments (e.g. mechanical ventilation, dialysis, feeding tube, intravenous antibiotics, blood transfusion) will be assessed from their last survey or their ACP document. The actual treatment received by the patient will be assessed from medical records after the patient's death. Proportion of patients who died and received treatment consistent with their stated preferences will be calculated and compared between ACP and control arms

    Measured: one year

Secondary outcomes (5)
  1. Total health care expenditure of patients during study duration

    Total healthcare expenditures during the study duration will be assessed from institutional databases and compared between ACP and control arms.

    Measured: one year

  2. Patient scores for Quality of life

    Quality of life will be assessed through McGill Quality of Life scale and compared between ACP and control arms.

    Measured: every four months for one year

  3. Patient's understanding of own illness

    Patient's understanding of own prognosis will be assessed and compared between ACP and control arms.

    Measured: every four months for one year

  4. Patient scores for anxiety and depression

    Patient's anxiety and depression will be assessed through Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale and scores will be compared between ACP and control arms.

    Measured: every four months for one year

  5. Patient's participation in decision-making

    Patient scores on decision conflict scale will be assessed and compared between ACP and control arms.

    Measured: every four months for one year

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted24 Nov 2014 (estimated)
  2. Study startFeb 2015
  3. Primary completionJun 2018
  4. Study completionJun 2018

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
282 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02299180
Sponsor's protocol ID
LCPC IN14-0001
Status last verified
Feb 2019
First submitted
18 Nov 2014
Last updated
8 Feb 2019
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No

Publications

  • Malhotra C, Hu M, Malhotra R, Sim D, Jaufeerally FR, Bundoc FG, Finkelstein EA. Instability in End-of-Life Care Preference Among Heart Failure Patients: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial in Singapore. J Gen Intern Med. 2020 Jul;35(7):2010-2016. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-05740-2. Epub 2020 Feb 26.

    PubMed 32103441
  • Malhotra C, Sim D, Jaufeerally F, Finkelstein EA. Associations between understanding of current treatment intent, communication with healthcare providers, preferences for invasive life-sustaining interventions and decisional conflict: results from a survey of patients with advanced heart failure in Singapore. BMJ Open. 2018 Sep 19;8(9):e021688. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-021688.

    PubMed 30232107
  • Malhotra C, Sim DK, Jaufeerally F, Vikas NN, Sim GW, Tan BC, Ng CS, Tho PL, Lim J, Chuang CY, Fong FH, Liu J, Finkelstein EA. Impact of advance care planning on the care of patients with heart failure: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2016 Jun 10;17(1):285. doi: 10.1186/s13063-016-1414-1.

    PubMed 27287330

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing ACP in people with Heart Failure, run by Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School at 2 sites in Singapore.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 8 Feb 2019. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 2 sites in Singapore. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Proportion of patients receiving end of life care consistent with their stated preferences (time frame: one year). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02299180, which also lists 3 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 8 Feb 2019.

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