The MuSt-PC: a Pilot Study to Assess Symptom Burden of Co-occuring Symptoms

University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Palliative Care

Treatments: Other: USD questionnaire

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06107946

11087 (Registry Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

In this pilot study, physicians and nurse practitioners working in different care settings will use MuSt-PC, for adult patients with any life-limiting iilness, for whom the Surprise question is answered negatively: if the HCP answers "no" to the question "Would I be surprised if this patiënt died in the next 12 months?''. In total, at least 20 eligible patients will be recruited and asked to perform all study assessments.

Full description

In this pilot study, physicians and nurse practitioners working in different care settings will use MuSt-PC, for adult patients with any life-limiting iilness, for whom the Surprise question is answered negatively: if the HCP answers "no" to the question "Would I be surprised if this patiënt died in the next 12 months?''. In total, at least 20 eligible patients will be recruited and asked to perform all study assessments.

After a baseline screening assessment, all eligible patients with at least 2 simultaneously occurring symptoms with a numeric rating score £4 on the 11 point scale on the Utrecht Symptom Diary, will be asked to fiil out the Utrecht Symptom Diary during two weeks.

In the first week twice daily (morning and evening), in the second week once daily (evening).

Enrollment: 44 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients identified as in a palliative care trajectory (based on a negative answer to the surprise question "Would I be surprised if this patiënt died in the next 12 months?")
• All primary diseases (cancer, non-cancer (e.g. COPD, haart failure, frailty)
• Patients should have at least two symptoms on the Utrecht Symptom Diary with a numeric rating score of 4 or higher
• Life expectancy of at least 4 weeks
• Able to fill out Dutch questionnaires
• Informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Patients who are unable or unwilling to self-assess their symptoms at baseline.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

44 participants in 1 patient group

symptom assessment

Other group

Description:

Patients will have assessed symptom burden using the Dutch validated ESAS (called USD), build in the MuSt-PC tool. Thereafter, they will record symptom burden in a diary during 2 weeks.

Treatment:

Other: USD questionnaire