title: Survivors of intensive care with type 2 diabetes and the effect of shared care follow-up clinics: study protocol for the SWEET-AS randomised controlled feasibility study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many patients who survive the intensive care unit (ICU) experience long-term complications such as peripheral neuropathy and nephropathy which represent a major source of morbidity and affect quality of life adversely. Similar pathophysiological processes occur frequently in ambulant patients with diabetes mellitus who have never been critically ill. Some 25 % of all adult ICU patients have diabetes, and it is plausible that ICU survivors with co-existing diabetes are at heightened risk of sequelae from their critical illness. ICU follow-up clinics are being progressively implemented based on the concept that interventions provided in these clinics will alleviate the burdens of survivorship. However, there is only limited information about their outcomes. The few existing studies have utilised the expertise of healthcare professionals primarily trained in intensive care and evaluated heterogenous cohorts. A shared care model with an intensivist- and diabetologist-led clinic for ICU survivors with type 2 diabetes represents a novel targeted approach that has not been evaluated previously. Prior to undertaking any definitive study, it is essential to establish the feasibility of this intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  This will be a prospective, randomised, parallel, open-label feasibility study. Eligible patients will be approached before ICU discharge and randomised to the intervention (attending a shared care follow-up clinic 1 month after hospital discharge) or standard care. At each clinic visit, patients will be assessed independently by both an intensivist and a diabetologist who will provide screening and targeted interventions. Six months after discharge, all patients will be assessed by blinded assessors for glycated haemoglobin, peripheral neuropathy, cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy, nephropathy, quality of life, frailty, employment and healthcare utilisation. The primary outcome of this study will be the recruitment and retention at 6 months of all eligible patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study will provide preliminary data about the potential effects of critical illness on chronic glucose metabolism, the prevalence of microvascular complications, and the impact on healthcare utilisation and quality of life in intensive care survivors with type 2 diabetes. If feasibility is established and point estimates are indicative of benefit, funding will be sought for a larger, multi-centre study.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  ANZCTR ACTRN12616000206426.
authors.affiliation: Intensive Care Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000 Australia ; Discipline of Acute Care Medicine, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000 Australia.
authors.forename: Yasmine
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3340-1965
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ali Abdelhamid
authors.affiliation: Endocrine and Metabolic Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000 Australia ; Discipline of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000 Australia.
authors.forename: Liza
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: Endocrine and Metabolic Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000 Australia ; Discipline of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000 Australia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horowitz
authors.affiliation: Intensive Care Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000 Australia ; Discipline of Acute Care Medicine, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000 Australia.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Deane
keywords: Critical illness; Diabetes mellitus; Follow-up studies; Intensive care; Survivors