The VIP3 (Very Old Intensive Care Patients) Study: Family Involvement in Treatment Decisions for Old ICU Patients

Launched by ST GEORGE'S, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON · Jun 16, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial, called the VIP3 Study, is looking at how family members are involved in making treatment decisions for very old patients (75 years and older) who are critically ill and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). As more elderly people with complex health problems are being cared for in ICUs, it’s important to understand how doctors and nurses communicate with patients and their families. The study aims to find out how often family meetings happen in ICUs, how these meetings are held, and how they affect decisions that focus on what the patient and family value most.

People who might be eligible to take part are those aged 75 or older who are admitted to the ICU and expected to stay for more than three days. Participants should not have any treatment limits in place when they arrive (except for CPR), and their admission should not be planned in advance. If you join the study, the team will observe and learn about how communication happens between ICU staff and families, with the hope of improving how decisions are made together in the future. This study has not started recruiting participants yet.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of participating centres
• • Age 75 years and above
• • Expected Length of stay (LOS) \> 3 days
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Refusal to participate
• • Limitation of treatment upon ICU arrival (other than Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation-CPR)
• • Planned admission