Pilot Trial of a Web/Mobile/Tablet-based Communication and Goals-of-Care Decision Aid for Clinicians and Families of Severe Acute Brain Injury Patients
The goal is to pilot test a highly accessible, web-based, pragmatic, scalable intervention to overcome ongoing problems with high stakes decision-making by surrogate decision-makers of patients in ICUs with severe acute brain injury (SABI), including those with moderate-severe traumatic brain injury, large hemispheric acute ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage.
• surrogate is age 18 years or older, no upper age limit;
• documented surrogate decision-maker (official health care proxy, or legal next of kin) of a critically ill severe acute brain injury (SABI) patient ≥ 3 days after admission;
• patient is age 18 years or older, no upper age limit;
• patient has SABI; defined as either traumatic brain injury, spontaneous primary intracerebral hemorrhage (not due to tumor or vascular malformation), or hemispheric acute ischemic stroke;
• patient iscritically ill defined as either intubated on a mechanical ventilator, or unable to swallow without a feeding tube (even if not intubated/ventilated);
• patient is judged by the attending physician to have ≥40% risk of death or long-term functional impairment, elicited by asking the attending physician, does this patient have at least a 40% chance of in-hospital mortality or long-term functional impairment?, defined as needing assistance with at least 1 activity of daily living (ADL).
• patient has undergone initial stabilization but remains critically ill;
• surrogate will participate in clinician-family goals of care meeting, either in person or via video- or telephone-conference.
• surrogate must be English speaking and literate
• clinical treating attending, or physician trainee (fellow, resident), or licensed affiliated practitioner who will lead the clinician-family meeting when goals-of-care are discussed;
• clinician may decline participation in the outcome measures but cannot restrict the surrogate decision-maker in study participation.