Trial reportIntensive care medicine2023
Effects of an online information tool on post-traumatic stress disorder in relatives of intensive care unit patients: a multicenter double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (ICU-Families-Study).
Trial report in Intensive care medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 4 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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Effects of eHealth interventions on psychological outcomes of post intensive care syndrome-family: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Magnitude of the Digital Placebo Effect and Its Moderators on Generalized Anxiety Symptoms: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Family Support Strategies During Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Review.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingPooled it
- Effects of The Caregiver Pathway intervention on symptoms of post-intensive care syndrome among family caregivers to critically ill patients: long-term results from a randomized controlled trial.Intensive care medicine · 2025Trial
- Effect of an intensive care unit virtual reality intervention on relatives´ mental health distress: a multicenter, randomized controlled trial.Critical care (London, England) · 2025Trial
- Digital Tools for Information, Communication, Support, and Family Engagement in Adult Intensive Care Units: A Scoping Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- [Ethically challenging determination of treatment goals in the intensive care unit: reasons, frequency and possible solutions].Die Anaesthesiologie · 2026Review
- Interventions to improve mental health in caregivers of adult intensive care patients: a systematic review.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- Mental Health Needs of Families of Patients in Intensive Care Units and the Role of Mobile Health: Survey Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- The Effects of Digital Health Interventions for Family Members in Intensive Care Units: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Review
- Investigating the Feasibility, Usability, and Efficacy of a Mobile App to Reduce Anxiety and Depression in Families of Critical Care Cancer Patients: A Quasi-Experimental Pilot Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Exploring Video Calls and PTSD Symptoms in Family Members of Severe COVID-19 Patients Post-ICU Discharge: A Mixed-Methods Study.Nursing in critical care · 2025Article
- Identification of unmet information needs among families of critically ill patients and their association with post-intensive care syndrome-family: protocol for a single-center cross-sectional study.BMC palliative care · 2025Article
- Long-term prevalence of PTSD symptom in family members of severe COVID-19 patients: a serial follow-up study extending to 18 months after ICU discharge.Journal of intensive care · 2024Article
- One-year outcomes in acute respiratory distress syndrome survivors: COVID-19 versus seasonal influenza or pneumonia.Intensive care medicine · 2024Article
- Novel Definitions of Wellness and Distress among Family Caregivers of Patients with Acute Cardiorespiratory Failure: A Qualitative Study.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2024Article
- Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine and Indian Association of Palliative Care Expert Consensus and Position Statements for End-of-life and Palliative Care in the Intensive Care Unit.Indian journal of critical care medicine : peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeIntensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization is challenging for the family members of the patients. Most family members report some level of anxiety and depression, sometimes even resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). An association has been reported between lack of information and PTSD. This study had three aims: to quantify the psychological burden of family members of critically ill patients, to explore whether a website with specific information could reduce PTSD symptoms, and to ascertain whether a website with information about intensive care would be used.
methodA multicenter double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was carried out in Austria and Switzerland.
resultsIn total, 89 members of families of critically ill patients (mean age 47.3 ± 12.9 years, female n = 59, 66.3%) were included in the study. 46 relatives were allocated to the intervention website and 43 to the control website. Baseline Impact of Event Scale (IES) score was 27.5 ± 12.7. Overall, 50% showed clinically relevant PTSD symptoms at baseline. Mean IES score for the primary endpoint (~ 30 days after inclusion, T1) was 24 ± 15.8 (intervention 23.9 ± 17.9 vs. control 24.1 ± 13.5, p = 0.892). Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS - Deutsch (D)) score at T1 was 12.2 ± 6.1 (min. 3, max. 31) and did not differ between groups. Use of the website differed between the groups (intervention min. 1, max. 14 vs. min. 1, max. 3; total 1386 "clicks" on the website, intervention 1021 vs. control 365). Recruitment was prematurely stopped in February 2020 due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
conclusionFamily members of critically ill patients often have significant PTSD symptoms and online information on critical illness did not result in reduced PTSD symptoms.
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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.