Famirea 22
Trial question
What is the effect of a condolence letter among relatives of patients who died in the ICU?
Study design
Multi-center
Open label
RCT
Population
Characteristics of study participants
35.0% female
65.0% male
N = 242
242 patients (85 female, 157 male).
Inclusion criteria: relatives of patients who died in the ICU.
Key exclusion criteria: pregnancy.
Interventions
N=123 condolence letter (receiving a condolence letter).
N=119 control (not receiving a condolence letter).
Primary outcome
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score at 1 month
16 points
14 points
16.0 points
12.0 points
8.0 points
4.0 points
0.0 points
Condolence
letter
Control
No significant
difference ↔
No significant difference in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score at 1 month (16 points vs. 14 points; MD 0.77, 95% CI -1.7 to 3.3).
Secondary outcomes
Significant increase in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score at 6 months (13 points vs. 10 points; AD 3 points, 95% CI 0.13 to 5.87).
No significant difference in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score-depression subscale at 1 month (8 points vs. 6 points; MD 1.1, 95% CI -0.5 to 2.6).
No significant difference in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score-depression subscale at 6 months (6 points vs. 3 points; MD 1.4, 95% CI -0.14 to 2.9).
Safety outcomes
No significant difference in prevalence of complicated grief symptoms.
Significant difference in PTSD symptoms at 6 months (52.4% vs. 37.1%) and prevalence of depression symptoms at 6 months (36.6% vs. 24.7%).
Conclusion
In relatives of patients who died in the ICU, condolence letter was not superior to control with respect to Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score at 1 month.
Reference
Nancy Kentish-Barnes, Sylvie Chevret, Benoît Champigneulle et al. Effect of a condolence letter on grief symptoms among relatives of patients who died in the ICU: a randomized clinical trial. Intensive Care Med. 2017 Apr;43(4):473-484.
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