Study Results
The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.
Basic Information
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COMPLETED
NA
814 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2016-08-31
2017-10-31
Brief Summary
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Detailed Description
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A number of interventions for improving clinical outcomes in CAP are now supported by recently accrued level 1 evidence. Following a Cochrane review in 2011 that suggested adjunct corticosteroids accelerate time to clinical stability, a number of trials have since demonstrated favorable outcomes. Most notable are two landmark large randomized controlled trials (RCT); a study of the effect of corticosteroid on reducing treatment failure in severe CAP published in JAMA, and a study published in the Lancet in 2015 that demonstrated faster clinical recovery and shorter LOS (by 1 day) without significant adverse events.10 A subsequent meta-analysis (2000 patients from 12 RCTs) confirmed these findings and routine adjunctive corticosteroid is now widely supported though as yet not consistently deployed. Early mobilization safely and effectively reduces LOS when applied appropriately as does early switch to oral antibiotics guided by a set of well-defined basic clinical and laboratory criteria. Recently, a RCT incorporating both measures demonstrated a LOS reduction of 2 days compared to standard care. A meta-analysis of nutritional support in malnourished medical inpatients (a patient cohort that includes those admitted with CAP) showed that systematic screening for risk of malnutrition and targeted nutritional therapy intervention reduces non-elective readmission rates.
No existing study has assessed bundling all four established interventions (corticosteroid, early switch to oral antibiotics, early mobilization and systematic screening for malnutrition and targeted nutritional therapy). However, adherence to consensus guidelines for CAP is notoriously poor suggesting the major challenge will be in bridging the "evidence-practice gap" and particularly changing clinician behavior. Generalist clinicians are becoming increasingly overwhelmed by a plethora of guidelines for multiple illnesses that may co-exist in the same patient. Currently at Western Health, 43% of CAP patients receive corticosteroids, 63% physiotherapy (median time to initiation 2 days) and 65% a guideline-compliant antibiotic. No parenteral antibiotic stopping rules are in place (median 3 days). There is a current compliance rate of 72% for malnutrition risk screening in inpatients across the health service. The investigators believe therefore, that in order to address this gap between evidence and practice, an alternative service model is necessary to ensure best practice specifically for this leading contributor to health service burden.
The investigators propose evaluating a stand-alone over-arching "syndrome-based" clinical service for CAP analogous to those already applied in other areas (e.g. "stroke-services" credited with substantial improvements in outcomes from acute cerebrovascular disease). The proposed "CAP Service" would have core responsibility for ensuring comprehensive and rigorous current evidence-based best practice by application of a standardized set of management algorithms incorporating interventions supported by Level 1 evidence.
Service evaluation will take the form of a stepped wedge study design, a type of cluster RCT that is particularly well-suited to implementation and health services research. Importantly, the investigators have already successfully implemented this design in health services research at Western Health. The primary research question is to quantify the impact of a dedicated CAP Service delivering consistent and standardized evidence-based care on length of stay, costs, 30- and 90-day readmission rates and mortality.
Conditions
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Keywords
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
DOUBLE
Study Groups
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CAP Service
New model of service delivery
Introduction of a new CAP disease specific clinical team to ensure systematic implementation of standardized treatment protocols (similar to a clinical pathway) for interventions supported by Level-1 evidence.
Usual care
Current practice
Interventions as determined by the treating General Medical team consistent with current usual practice.
Interventions
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New model of service delivery
Introduction of a new CAP disease specific clinical team to ensure systematic implementation of standardized treatment protocols (similar to a clinical pathway) for interventions supported by Level-1 evidence.
Current practice
Interventions as determined by the treating General Medical team consistent with current usual practice.
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
Exclusion Criteria
* Enrolled in another inpatient clinical trial.
Withdrawal Criteria:
* Transferred to a non-General Medical Unit within 48-hours of admission.
* Transferred to another health service within 48-hours of admission.
18 Years
ALL
No
Sponsors
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University of Melbourne
OTHER
Monash University
OTHER
La Trobe University
OTHER
Western Health, Australia
OTHER_GOV
Responsible Party
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Melanie Lloyd
Research Coordinator
Locations
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Footscray Hospital
Footscray, Victoria, Australia
Sunshine Hospital
St Albans, Victoria, Australia
Countries
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References
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Blum CA, Nigro N, Briel M, Schuetz P, Ullmer E, Suter-Widmer I, Winzeler B, Bingisser R, Elsaesser H, Drozdov D, Arici B, Urwyler SA, Refardt J, Tarr P, Wirz S, Thomann R, Baumgartner C, Duplain H, Burki D, Zimmerli W, Rodondi N, Mueller B, Christ-Crain M. Adjunct prednisone therapy for patients with community-acquired pneumonia: a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2015 Apr 18;385(9977):1511-8. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62447-8. Epub 2015 Jan 19.
Mundy LM, Leet TL, Darst K, Schnitzler MA, Dunagan WC. Early mobilization of patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia. Chest. 2003 Sep;124(3):883-9. doi: 10.1378/chest.124.3.883.
Carratala J, Garcia-Vidal C, Ortega L, Fernandez-Sabe N, Clemente M, Albero G, Lopez M, Castellsague X, Dorca J, Verdaguer R, Martinez-Montauti J, Manresa F, Gudiol F. Effect of a 3-step critical pathway to reduce duration of intravenous antibiotic therapy and length of stay in community-acquired pneumonia: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Intern Med. 2012 Jun 25;172(12):922-8. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.1690.
Siemieniuk RA, Meade MO, Alonso-Coello P, Briel M, Evaniew N, Prasad M, Alexander PE, Fei Y, Vandvik PO, Loeb M, Guyatt GH. Corticosteroid Therapy for Patients Hospitalized With Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2015 Oct 6;163(7):519-28. doi: 10.7326/M15-0715.
Marti C, Grosgurin O, Harbarth S, Combescure C, Abbas M, Rutschmann O, Perrier A, Garin N. Adjunctive Corticotherapy for Community Acquired Pneumonia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS One. 2015 Dec 7;10(12):e0144032. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144032. eCollection 2015.
Torres A, Sibila O, Ferrer M, Polverino E, Menendez R, Mensa J, Gabarrus A, Sellares J, Restrepo MI, Anzueto A, Niederman MS, Agusti C. Effect of corticosteroids on treatment failure among hospitalized patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia and high inflammatory response: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2015 Feb 17;313(7):677-86. doi: 10.1001/jama.2015.88.
Lloyd MA, Tang CY, Callander EJ, Janus ED, Karahalios A, Skinner EH, Lowe S, Karunajeewa HA. Patient-reported outcome measurement in community-acquired pneumonia: feasibility of routine application in an elderly hospitalized population. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2019 Jul 27;5:97. doi: 10.1186/s40814-019-0481-y. eCollection 2019.
Lloyd M, Karahalios A, Janus E, Skinner EH, Haines T, De Silva A, Lowe S, Shackell M, Ko S, Desmond L, Karunajeewa H; Improving Evidence-Based Treatment Gaps and Outcomes in Community-Acquired Pneumonia (IMPROVE-GAP) Implementation Team at Western Health. Effectiveness of a Bundled Intervention Including Adjunctive Corticosteroids on Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients With Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Stepped-Wedge Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2019 Aug 1;179(8):1052-1060. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.1438.
Skinner EH, Lloyd M, Janus E, Ong ML, Karahalios A, Haines TP, Kelly AM, Shackell M, Karunajeewa H. The IMPROVE-GAP Trial aiming to improve evidence-based management of community-acquired pneumonia: study protocol for a stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial. Trials. 2018 Feb 5;19(1):88. doi: 10.1186/s13063-017-2407-4.
Other Identifiers
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MH 2016.014
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id