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Stress Related Disorders in Family Members of COVID-19 Patients Admitted to the ICU

Psychological Distress Symptoms in Family Members of Patients With COVID-19 Respiratory Failure in Intensive Care Units

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04476914
Enrollment
330
Registered
2020-07-20
Start date
2020-06-29
Completion date
2021-06-15
Last updated
2021-06-22

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Anxiety, Corona Virus Infection, Depression, Family Members, Post Intensive Care Unit Syndrome, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Respiratory Failure, SARS-CoV 2

Brief summary

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This syndrome has been associated with high mortality, estimated to be about 1.7% of all infected in the US, though in those who develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in the context of the infection, mortality rates appear to be much higher, perhaps up to 70%. To avoid transmission of the virus, patient isolation has become the standard of care, with many hospitals eliminating visitors of any type, and particularly eliminating visitation to patients infected with COVID-19. These necessary, but restrictive, measures add stress to the ICU and particularly to the family members who are not only left with fear, but also many unanswered questions. In contrast to the Society of Critical Care Guidelines (SCCM) which recommend family engagement in the ICU and recent data from this study team which suggests engaging families in end-of-life situations reduces symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in family members, family members are now unable to say good-bye and unable to provide support to their loved-one throughout the process of the patients' ICU stay. The study hypothesizes is that these restrictive visiting regulations will increase rates of Post-intensive care syndrome- family (PICS-F) which includes symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety and aim to evaluate for factors that either exacerbate these symptoms or protect from them.

Detailed description

The study aims to define the prevalence of PICS-F in the study population 3-4 months after ICU admission of patient, specifically symptoms of PTSD as the primary outcome, and symptoms of depression and anxiety as secondary outcomes. The study hypothesizes prevalence will be higher than seen in other studies. An additional aim is to identify predisposing or mitigating exposures for PICS-F. The study hypothesizes that increased psychological symptoms will be associated less exposure to virtual patient visits (tablet/video conferencing), higher number of patient comorbidities (using the Charleston comorbidity index), preexisting family member psychological conditions. The study also plans to evaluate the association between family perception of quality of communication or decision-making using items from the validated Family Satisfaction in the ICU (FS-ICU) and psychological symptoms. The study hypothesizes that the quality of communication and decision-making will be associated with lower psychological symptoms. Finally, the plan is to, using qualitative methods, explore and describe family members' stress, experiences with communication with healthcare providers and their satisfaction with ICU care while being physically distant from their loved ones. The aim is to use qualitative findings about family members' experiences to contextualize and explain results differences in stress, satisfaction and communication quality between low vs high PICS-F scores.

Interventions

None listed

Sponsors

University of Washington
CollaboratorOTHER
Tulane University
CollaboratorOTHER
University of Vermont
CollaboratorOTHER
Penn State University
CollaboratorOTHER
Columbia University
CollaboratorOTHER
South Shore Hospital
CollaboratorOTHER
Evergreen Hospital
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
Brigham and Women's Hospital
CollaboratorOTHER
University of Colorado, Denver
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Family members of COVID-19 positive patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit with respiratory failure

Exclusion criteria

* Family members will be excluded if they: are under 18 or unable to complete the survey's due to language barriers

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)90-120 days after admission of patient to the ICUUsing Impact of Events Scale-Revised-6 , family members will be screened for symptoms of PTSD. Scale returns scores of 0-24, with higher scores indicating more likely to have symptoms of PTSD

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Symptoms of Anxiety90-120 days after admission of patient to the ICUUsing the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score, family members will be screened for symptoms of anxiety. The HADS anxiety scale is scored between 0 and 21, with higher scores indicating more likely to have symptoms of anxiety
Symptoms of Depression90-120 days after admission of patient to the ICUUsing the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score, family members will be screened for symptoms of Depression. The HADS depression scale is scored between 0 and 21, with higher scores indicating more likely to have symptoms of depression
Family Satisfaction with Communication and Decision Making90-120 days after admission of patient to the ICUUsing preselected questions from the Family Satisfaction in the ICU-27 questionnaire, we will survey families to evaluate their satisfaction with communication and decision making. Higher scores will indicate more satisfication

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026