UP STUDY - Decipher Persistent Critical Illness Through in Deep Clinical Phenotyping.

Overview

Persistent Critical Illness (PCI) is a condition that affects some patients who remain in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for a long time, usually more than 10-14 days. It is estimated to occur in 5-20% of critically ill patients. A recent Portuguese study found that more than 14% of ICU patients stayed longer than 14 days. PCI is often associated with ongoing need for life support, such as mechanical ventilation or medications to maintain blood pressure. However, patients may also experience severe muscle weakness, repeated infections, or other complications, which makes this group very diverse. One of the main risk factors for prolonged ICU stay is sepsis, a severe infection that affects the whole body. Other factors-such as prior health conditions, use of corticosteroids, sedation practices, early versus late mobilization, fluid and antibiotic management, and delirium treatment-may also influence the development and course of PCI. This study aims to identify different clinical patterns ("clusters") among critically ill patients who remain in the ICU for more than 10 days. Patients will be followed until hospital discharge, and up to one year if data are available. Understanding these different patterns will help develop more personalized and effective care strategies for each patient profile. The study is a multicenter retrospective cohort including adult patients (≥18 years) admitted to participating ICUs for more than 5 days between 2021 and 2023. Data collected will include demographic, clinical, and laboratory information, details of organ support (such as mechanical ventilation or vasopressors), medications, nutrition, and rehabilitation practices. Statistical and machine learning methods will be used to identify groups of patients with similar clinical trajectories and to assess how these groups are related to outcomes such as survival, recovery of organ function, or long-term disability. Expected results are the identification of distinct clinical clusters of PCI that combine clinical and laboratory data, and the development of tailored management strategies to improve recovery and outcomes for patients with PCI.

Primary outcome measures

• Need for one or more continuous organ support treatment at Day 10 [Time frame: The first 10 days in the ICU]

Secondary outcome measures (2)

• All cause mortality stratified by Persistent Critical Illness (PCI) clusters [Time frame: From cluster identification (Day 10) until hospital discharge or up to 1-year follow-up if available.]
• Organ dysfunction stratified by Persistent Critical Illness [Time frame: From cluster identification (Day 10) until hospital discharge or up to 1-year follow-up if available.]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Adult patients aged 18 years or older;
• ICU length of stay equal to or greater than 5 days.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients with an ICU stay < 5 days;
• Patients discharged from the ICU early due to lack of ward availability, rather than clinical recovery;
• Patients who do not survive the early phase of critical illness (i.e., early ICU deaths).

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Observational model

Cohort

Study locations

Portugal · 7 centers

• Centro Hospitalar de São João / ULS São João — Lisbon
• Hospital de Vila Franca de Xira / ULS Estuário do Tejo — Lisbon
• Hospital Garcia de Orta / ULS Almada-Seixal — Lisbon
• Hospital Prof. Doutor Fernando Fonseca / ULS Amadora -Sintra — Lisbon
• Hospital Santa Maria / ULS Santa Maria — Lisbon
• Hospital São Francisco Xavier / Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Ocidental — Lisbon
• Hospital de VIla Nova de Gaia-Espinho / ULS Gaia e Espinho — Vila Nova de Gaia

Publications

• Fuest KE, Ulm B, Daum N, Lindholz M, Lorenz M, Blobner K, Langer N, Hodgson C, Herridge M, Blobner M, Schaller SJ. Clustering of critically ill patients using an individualized learning approach enables dose optimization of mobilization in the ICU. Crit Care. 2023 Jan 3;27(1):1. doi: 10.1186/s13054-022-04291-8. PMID 36597110
• Shaw M, Viglianti EM, McPeake J, Bagshaw SM, Pilcher D, Bellomo R, Iwashyna TJ, Quasim T. Timing of Onset, Burden, and Postdischarge Mortality of Persistent Critical Illness in Scotland, 2005-2014: A Retrospective, Population-Based, Observational Study. Crit Care Explor. 2020 Apr 29;2(4):e0102. doi: 10.1097/CCE.0000000000000102. eCollection 2020 Apr. PMID 32426744
• Voiriot G, Oualha M, Pierre A, Salmon-Gandonniere C, Gaudet A, Jouan Y, Kallel H, Radermacher P, Vodovar D, Sarton B, Stiel L, Brechot N, Preau S, Joffre J; la CRT de la SRLF. Chronic critical illness and post-intensive care syndrome: from pathophysiology to clinical challenges. Ann Intensive Care. 2022 Jul 2;12(1):58. doi: 10.1186/s13613-022-01038-0. PMID 35779142
• Inoue S, Hatakeyama J, Kondo Y, Hifumi T, Sakuramoto H, Kawasaki T, Taito S, Nakamura K, Unoki T, Kawai Y, Kenmotsu Y, Saito M, Yamakawa K, Nishida O. Post-intensive care syndrome: its pathophysiology, prevention, and future directions. Acute Med Surg. 2019 Apr 25;6(3):233-246. doi: 10.1002/ams2.415. eCollection 2019 Jul. PMID 31304024
• Pereira RA, Sousa M, Cidade JP, Melo L, Lopes D, Ventura S, Aragao I, Lima Neto RMF, Molinos E, Marques A, Cardoso N, Marino F, Monteiro FB, Oliveira AP, Silva RC, Real AMN, Banheiro BS, Reis R, Adao-Serrano M, Cracium A, Valadas A, Ribeiro JM, Povoa P, Tapadinhas C, Mendes V, Coelho L, Maia R, Freitas PT, Ferreira IA, Ramires T, Val-Flores LS, Cascao M, Alves R, Rodeia SC, Barrigoto C, Cardiga R, PMID 36888823
• Livingston E, Bucher K. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Italy. JAMA. 2020 Apr 14;323(14):1335. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.4344. No abstract available. PMID 32181795
• Cadd M, Nunn M. An A-E assessment of post-ICU COVID-19 recovery. J Intensive Care. 2021 Mar 20;9(1):29. doi: 10.1186/s40560-021-00544-w. PMID 33743819
• Gupta E, Jacobs MD, George G, Roman J. Beyond the ICU: Frailty and Post-ICU Disability. Healthcare Use after Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Severe Sepsis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019 Apr 15;199(8):1028-1030. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201805-0928RR. No abstract available. PMID 30849230

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07510776 · UP STUDY

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗