Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 25, 2026
Observational Study Protocol for Repeated Clinical Examination and Critical Care Ultrasonography Within the Simple Intensive Care Studies
Published on: January 16, 2019
WIse CHoices in the ICU (WICH-ICU): Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan for a Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized
Emma Larsson1,2, Arman Valadkhani1,2, Jesper Eriksson1,2
1Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Background:
Healthcare overuse, including unnecessary diagnostic testing and procedures, contributes to patient harm, increased healthcare costs, and resource waste. The Choosing Wisely initiative aims to reduce low-value care through evidence-based recommendations. However, limited evidence exists regarding the safety and effectiveness of implementing Choosing Wisely recommendations in intensive care settings.
Methods:
The WICH-ICU is a registry-based stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the implementation of specific Choosing Wisely interventions in Swedish intensive care units (ICUs). The study will include adult patients treated in participating Swedish ICUs. The intervention consists of three parts of the Choosing Wisely recommendations: (1) reduced frequency of arterial blood gas sampling, (2) reduced routine laboratory testing, and (3) reduced routine chest radiography. The primary outcome is 30-day mortality. Secondary outcomes include ICU length of stay, duration of mechanical ventilation (invasive and noninvasive), continuous renal replacement therapy duration, and ICU readmission within 72 h. Intervention data, testing intensity (arterial blood gas samples, laboratory tests, and chest radiographs per patient-day), will be collected through local monitoring, while outcome data will be obtained from the Swedish Intensive Care Registry (SIR). The stepped-wedge design allows each participating ICU to serve as its own control, with randomized timing of intervention implementation.
Discussion:
This study will provide evidence on the safety and effectiveness of implementing Choosing Wisely recommendations in intensive care settings. The stepped-wedge cluster randomized design minimizes contamination while allowing all participating sites to eventually receive the intervention. The results will inform evidence-based de-implementation strategies in critical care.
Trial Registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT07013175.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Nursing Interventions II: Selecting and Classifying the Nursing Interventions
01:03Nursing Interventions I: Taxonomy of Nursing Interventions
A nursing intervention is a treatment or action based on scientific concepts and knowledge from the nursing, behavioral, and physical sciences. Identifying and prioritizing nursing interventions based on the desired outcome is...
01:30Ethical Dilemmas II
01:28Acute Coronary Syndrome IV: Interprofessional Care
01:23Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...
01:27Nursing Clinical Information System
A Nursing Clinical Information System (NCIS) is a specialized type of healthcare information system tailored to meet the unique needs of nursing practice. It incorporates the principles of nursing informatics to streamline information management and improve the quality of care delivery.
Critical attributes of NCIS include: