Clinical trial NCT01885637: DOMUS: A Trial of Accelerated Transition From Oncological Treatment to Continuing Palliative Care at Home
Official title: DOMUS: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of Accelerated Transition From Oncological Treatment to Continuing Palliative Care at Home
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Incurable Cancer
Keywords: Palliative
Palliation
Cancer
Care
SPC
Caregivers
Home Care Services, Hospital-Based
Psychological
From Oncological Treatment to Palliative Care at Home
Place of death
Lead sponsor: Rigshospitalet, Denmark
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Danish Cancer Society
name: TRYG Foundation
name: The Danish Institute for Health Services Research, Copenhagen, Denmark
name: Department of Psychology, Copenhagen University, Denmark
name: Danish Knowledge Centre for Palliative Care, Copenhagen, Denmark
First posted: 2013-06-25
Enrollment: 340
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: Danish studies have shown that the majority of palliative cancer patients wish to be cared for and spend the rest of their lives at home. Nevertheless \> 50% of palliative cancer patients die in acute hospitals and these figures are found in countries with a highly developed palliative care service as well. Some studies have suggested that, among other causes, delays in the discharge process represent a significant obstacle for achieving care and treatment, and ultimately death at home. Therefore, this randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims at investigating an accelerated transition program from oncological treatment to continuous specialized palliative care at home for patients with incurable cancer. The primary objective of the study is to investigate whether an accelerated transition from oncology care to palliative home care significantly increases home care and death. The secondary objectives are to investigate whether the intervention improves symptom control and quality of life, increases survival, affects health care expenses, improves caregiver quality of life and burden, dyadic coping and grief outcomes. The study will take place in the departments of oncology at Rigshospitalet, where palliative cancer patients will enter the intervention or usual care arms. The intervention is an accelerated transition program, which consists of planning palliative home care and if needed optimization of facilities at home, and a transfer to home care within 5 days of informed consent. On day 1 at home the patient, informal caregiver, nurse, representatives of the specialized palliative care team and if possible the general practitioner and project psychologist meet to organize home care. A dyadic psychological intervention is offered to patients and their informal caregiver during specialized palliative care at home and to bereaved caregivers. The control group will be treated according to the usual principles, but if inadequate palliative care is observed in this group, the study group is obliged to involve responsible professionals. Both groups will be followed by assessments of the patient and the caregiver for up to 6 months and the caregivers 19 month after the patient's death.

Detailed description: The trial is a controlled, randomized clinical trial in which 340 in- and outpatients in the Department of Oncology, at Rigshospitalet (Copenhagen University Hospital), are randomly assigned to either an accelerated transition process from oncological treatment to continuing specialised palliative care (SPC) at home plus standard care or standard care alone.

Patients are randomized immediately after their consent and will be discharged within a maximum of 5 working days from randomization. If these timelines are exceeded due to practical issues, the patient can participate in the trial if he/she completes a new base-line questionnaire (Quality of life questionnaire - Core (EORTC-QLQ-C30), Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (revised version) (ESAS-r), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Symptoms priority list, Symptom Checklist-92 (SCL-92), Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (mMOS-SS), Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI)and Relationship ladder, and still meets the inclusion criteria.

Data collection from patients and informal caregivers:

Patients are identified, informed about the study and consenting patients and their informal caregivers complete questionnaires (baseline), after which patients are randomized to either the intervention or the control group. The intervention group will be assigned a specialised palliative care team (SPT) no later than 5 days after randomization. The control group will continue their current treatment. Two weeks after baseline, patients and caregivers complete questionnaires for the 2-week follow-up. Likewise, the follow-up at 4 and 8-weeks consists of questionnaires completed by patients and caregivers. Six months after baseline, the patient's vital status is retrieved. If the patient is still alive questionnaires are sent to the patient and caregiver.

In case of admissions of the patients in both groups, data regarding causes of admission are retrieved from medical records.

Throughout the psychological intervention, the psychologists will register the thematic content of the sessions.

Data collection from informal caregivers includes the Medical Outcomes Study SF-36, Symptom Checklist-92 (SCL-92), modified Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (mMOS-SSS), Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI), Relationship Ladder, and Experiences in Close Relationships-Short Form (ECR-S). Data collection from caregivers will continue after the patient's death in the form of questionnaires, which are to be completed after 14 days, 2, 7, 13 and 19 months into the bereavement process (Medical Outcomes Study SF-36, Symptom Checklist-92 (SCL-92),Pittsburgh Sleep Quality index (PSQI), modified Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (mMOS-SSS), Inventory of Daily Widowed Life (IDWL), Experiences in Close Relationships-Short Form and Prolonged Grief(PG-13)). Further, data on caregivers' use of healthcare services will be retrieved from the National Health Care Register, National Patient Registry, the Psychiatric Central Register and Medicinal Product Statistics Register. After the last session, short semi-structured interviews will be conducted among a selected group of caregivers to identify the elements of the intervention that were experienced as helpful, and to investigate the caregivers' experience of having cared for their relatives at home and their bereavement process.

Blood samples from a subgroup of caregivers:

To analyze Telomere length, 10-milliliter (ml) blood samples from caregivers will be collected in a heparinized glass before and after the intervention. The white blood cells (leukocytes) are isolated and frozen to - 80 degrees Celsius. Blood samples are taken before randomization and after termination of the intervention. When the investigation is complete and all blood samples have been obtained and frozen, we will follow a standard protocol for isolation of telomere DNA. This protocol describes how DNA is analyzed for TL in the leukocytes by using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and how the total average TL is calculated from both the amount of telomeric product, and each copy gene.

The intervention:

1. Before the patient agrees to participate, an information meeting will be held. If the patient gives consent to participate, the CRFs will be completed, the blood sample taken from the caregiver and the patient will be randomized.
2. At day one or two after randomization the research nurse, the patient and informal caregiver discuss the patient's wishes for specialised palliative care in their own home and how these can be reconciled with the caregiver's wishes. The patient and caregiver's perceptions of challenges and concerns related to home care are explored and addressed.
3. Immediately after the planning meeting the conditions in the home are optimized, if needed.
4. Four to five days after randomization a home conference is held with the patient and caregiver, representatives of the SPT, nurse, and as far as possible with the patient's GP and the project psychologist. The SPT in collaboration with the GP and district nursing is now responsible for the distribution of tasks related to treatment and care.
5. Patient and caregiver (the primary informal caregiver, appointed by the patient), will be offered a psychological intervention as part of the multi-disciplinary intervention. The psychological intervention will be guided by an intervention manual developed specifically for the study. After the patient's death, bereaved caregivers will be offered one or two additional session, concluding the intervention.

Elements of the psychological intervention:

The psychological intervention will provide a continuum of sessions both before and after the patient's death, so caregivers continue to be supported after the death of their loved ones. The session content will depend on the specific situation and needs of each patient-caregiver dyad. The sessions may thus address several themes that can support the patient in being at home, for example, communication between the patient and the caregiver, reconciliation of different expectations and wishes for being cared for at home, psycho-education about stress and coping and focus on caregivers' self-care. The psychologist may also serve as a navigator in the event of unresolved issues and problems (i.e. help patients and caregivers to identify the most important issues for them and the right people to contact).

The duration of the study:

The study is completed when 340 patients have been randomized into the study and after the last patient has been followed six months after baseline. Patients in the intervention group can then choose to continue with the SPT after the study completion.

Duration of the study of caregivers ranges from randomization to the end of follow-up 19 months after the death of the patient.

In the control group, the patients continue to be attached to the health care system in line with current practice. This means that the patient typically remains in hospital or ambulatory clinic and may have contact with one or more hospitals, GP and possibly homecare later in the process. Caregivers in the control group may receive psychological counseling through referral from a GP.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Adult (at least 18 year old) cancer patients connected to the Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital
* Patients who want to spend as much time as possible in their own homes supported by an SPT
* Patients with incurable cancer
* Patients with no or limited antineoplastic treatment options or patients who resign antineoplastic treatment
* Patients living in the Capital Region
* Written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients who have already been referred to an SPT
* Hospitalized patients who are not judged capable of being discharged home
* Patients who are admitted to other hospitals
* Patients who do not speak Danish well enough to answer the questionnaires
* Patients who are considered incapable of cooperating in the trial

Primary outcomes:
measure: Place of care and death
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
Secondary outcomes:
measure: HRQL
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Use of medicine
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Survival time
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Healthcare services and informal care
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Cooperation and quality of the process
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Anxiety and depression
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Caregiver: anxiety and depression
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Caregiver: prolonged grief
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Dyadic coping
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Preference for place of treatment and care
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Caregiver: HRQoL
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Caregiver: Use of health services
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Caregiver burden
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Caregiver: telomere degradation
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Caregiver: The psychological intervention
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Caregiver Grief
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Caregiver health behavior
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Hospital admissions
timeFrame: Up to 4.5 years
measure: Non-participation
timeFrame: up to 4.5 years
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Copenhagen Ø
country: Denmark
facility: Depatment of Oncology, Rigshospitalet
Study officials:
affiliation: Rigshospitalet, Denmark
name: Per Sjøgren, Proff.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Halling CMB, Wolf RT, Sjogren P, Von Der Maase H, Timm H, Johansen C, Kjellberg J. Cost-effectiveness analysis of systematic fast-track transition from oncological treatment to specialised palliative care at home for patients and their caregivers: the DOMUS trial. BMC Palliat Care. 2020 Sep 15;19(1):142. doi: 10.1186/s12904-020-00645-7.
citation: Benthien K, Diasso P, von Heymann A, Nordly M, Kurita G, Timm H, Johansen C, Kjellberg J, von der Maase H, Sjogren P. Oncology to specialised palliative home care systematic transition: the Domus randomised trial. BMJ Support Palliat Care. 2020 Sep;10(3):350-357. doi: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002325. Epub 2020 Jul 17.
citation: von Heymann-Horan A, Bidstrup P, Guldin MB, Sjogren P, Andersen EAW, von der Maase H, Kjellberg J, Timm H, Johansen C. Effect of home-based specialised palliative care and dyadic psychological intervention on caregiver anxiety and depression: a randomised controlled trial. Br J Cancer. 2018 Nov;119(11):1307-1315. doi: 10.1038/s41416-018-0193-8. Epub 2018 Nov 14.
citation: Nordly M, Skov Benthien K, Vadstrup ES, Kurita GP, von Heymann-Horan AB, von der Maase H, Johansen C, Timm H, Kjellberg J, Sjogren P. Systematic fast-track transition from oncological treatment to dyadic specialized palliative home care: DOMUS - a randomized clinical trial. Palliat Med. 2019 Feb;33(2):135-149. doi: 10.1177/0269216318811269. Epub 2018 Nov 12. No abstract available.
citation: von Heymann-Horan A, Bidstrup PE, Johansen C, Rottmann N, Andersen EAW, Sjogren P, von der Maase H, Timm H, Kjellberg J, Guldin MB. Dyadic coping in specialized palliative care intervention for patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers: Effects and mediation in a randomized controlled trial. Psychooncology. 2019 Feb;28(2):264-270. doi: 10.1002/pon.4932. Epub 2018 Nov 15.
citation: Skov Benthien K, Nordly M, von Heymann-Horan A, Rosengaard Holmenlund K, Timm H, Kurita GP, Johansen C, Kjellberg J, von der Maase H, Sjogren P. Causes of Hospital Admissions in Domus: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Specialized Palliative Cancer Care at Home. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2018 Mar;55(3):728-736. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.10.007. Epub 2017 Oct 19.
citation: Benthien KS, Nordly M, Videbaek K, Kurita GP, von der Maase H, Timm H, Simonsen MK, Johansen C, Sjogren P. Classification of a palliative care population in a comprehensive cancer centre. Support Care Cancer. 2016 Apr;24(4):1865-73. doi: 10.1007/s00520-015-2979-z. Epub 2015 Oct 13.
citation: Nordly M, Benthien KS, Von Der Maase H, Johansen C, Kruse M, Timm H, Vadstrup ES, Kurita GP, von Heymann-Horan AB, Sjogren P. The DOMUS study protocol: a randomized clinical trial of accelerated transition from oncological treatment to specialized palliative care at home. BMC Palliat Care. 2014 Sep 9;13:44. doi: 10.1186/1472-684X-13-44. eCollection 2014.