Trial reportMultiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)2018
Randomized controlled trial of a home-based palliative approach for people with severe multiple sclerosis.
Trial report in Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Use of pragmatic randomized trials in multiple sclerosis: A systematic overview.Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2024Pooled it
- Palliative Care Interventions Effects on Psychological Distress: A Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2023Pooled it
- Needs-based triggers for timely referral to palliative care for older adults severely affected by noncancer conditions: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.BMC palliative care · 2023Pooled it
- Palliative Care Intervention Trials for Adults Living With Progressive Central Nervous System Diseases and Their Caregivers: A Systematic Review.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2022Pooled it
- EAN Guideline on Palliative Care of People with Severe, Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.Journal of palliative medicine · 2020Guideline
- The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of hospital-based specialist palliative care for adults with advanced illness and their caregivers.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Early palliative care for patients with glioblastoma: A randomized phase III clinical trial (EPCOG).Neuro-oncology · 2026Trial
- Effect of Short-term Integrated Palliative Care on Patient-Reported Outcomes Among Patients Severely Affected With Long-term Neurological Conditions: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2020Trial
- Participant perspectives of a home-based palliative approach for people with severe multiple sclerosis: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2018Trial
- Healthcare for adults with long-term neurological conditions: European Academy of Neurology Members Survey.BMJ supportive & palliative care · 2026Article
- Cognitive function in severe progressive multiple sclerosis.Brain communications · 2024Article
- Supporting community-dwelling older people with cognitive impairment to stay at home: A modelled cost analysis.Australasian journal on ageing · 2020Observational
- Palliative care interventions for people with multiple sclerosis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Review
- Palliative care in motor neurone disease: where are we now?Palliative care · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEvidence on the efficacy of palliative care in persons with severe multiple sclerosis (MS) is scarce.
objectiveTo assess the efficacy of a home-based palliative approach (HPA) for adults with severe MS and their carers.
methodsAdults with severe MS-carer dyads were assigned (2:1 ratio) to either HPA or usual care (UC). At each center, a multi-professional team delivered the 6-month intervention. A blind examiner assessed dyads at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Primary outcome measures were Palliative care Outcome Scale-Symptoms-MS (POS-S-MS) and Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life-Direct Weighting (SEIQoL-DW, not assessed in severely cognitively compromised patients).
resultsOf 78 dyads randomized, 76 (50 HPA, 26 UC) were analyzed. Symptom burden (POS-S-MS) significantly reduced in HPA group compared to UC ( p = 0.047). Effect size was 0.20 at 3 months and 0.32 at 6 months, and statistical significance was borderline in per-protocol analysis ( p = 0.062). Changes in SEIQoL-DW index did not differ in the two groups, as changes in secondary patient and carer outcomes.
conclusionHPA slightly reduced symptoms burden. We found no evidence of HPA efficacy on patient quality of life and on secondary outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.