| Literature DB >> 33757953 |
Emily Beswick1,2,3, Stella A Glasmacher1,3, Rachel Dakin1,2,3, Judith Newton1,2,3, Alan Carson1, Sharon Abrahams2,4, Siddharthan Chandran1,2,3,5, Suvankar Pal6,2,3,7.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Motor neuron disease (MND) is a rapidly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder with limited treatment options. The Motor Neuron Disease Systematic Multi-Arm Randomised Adaptive Trial (MND-SMART) is a multisite UK trial seeking to address the paucity in effective disease-modifying drugs for people with MND (pwMND). Historically, neurological trials have been plagued by suboptimal recruitment and high rates of attrition. Failure to recruit and/or retain participants can cause insufficiently representative samples, terminated trials or invalid conclusions. This study investigates patient-specific factors affecting recruitment and retention of pwMND to MND-SMART. Improved understanding of these factors may improve trial protocol design, optimise recruitment and retention. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: PwMND on the Scottish MND Register, Clinical Audit Research and Evaluation of MND (CARE-MND), will be invited to participate in a prospective observational cohort study that investigates factors affecting trial participation and attrition. We hypothesise that patient-specific factors will significantly affect trial recruitment and retention. Participants will complete the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, 9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Form Y to evaluate neuropsychiatric symptoms, the ALS-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire-Brief Form and Centre for Disease Control and Prevention-Health-Related Quality of Life for quality of life and a novel study-specific questionnaire on Attitudes towards Clinical Trial Participation (ACT-Q). Clinical data on phenotype, cognition (Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen) and physical functioning (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised) will also be collated. Caregivers will complete the Brief Dimensional Apathy Scale. After 12 months, a data request to MND-SMART will evaluate recruitment and retention. Descriptive statistics will summarise and compare assessments and participants reaching impairment thresholds. Variable groupings: attitudes, quality of life, cognition, behaviour, physical functioning, neuropsychiatric and phenotype. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression will explore association with participation/withdrawal in MND-SMART; presented as ORs and 95% CIs. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was provided by the West of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 3 (20/WS/0067) on 12 May 2020. The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, presented at academic conferences and disseminated to participants and the public. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.Entities:
Keywords: clinical trials; motor neurone disease; neurology
Mesh:
Year: 2021 PMID: 33757953 PMCID: PMC7993162 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044996
Source DB: PubMed Journal: BMJ Open ISSN: 2044-6055 Impact factor: 2.692
Overview of FIT-participation-MND study timeline
| Key study aspect | Actual or projected date |
| Favourable ethical opinion obtained | 12 May 2020 |
| Site approval to commence recruitment | 8 July 2020 |
| Recruitment commences | 10 August 2020 |
| Recruitment planned to close | March 2021 |
| CARE-MND data request | March 2021 |
| MND-SMART data request | March 2022 |
CARE, Clinical Audit Research and Evaluation; FIT, factors influencing trial; MND, motor neuron disease; SMART, Systematic Multi-Arm Randomised Adaptive Trial.
Study assessments, CARE-MND and MND-SMART data requests
| Data source | Name of assessment |
| Study assessment questionnaires: FIT-P-MND participant with MND | ACT-Q (Attitudes towards Clinical Trial Participation Questionnaire) |
| HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) | |
| STAI-Y (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Form Y) | |
| PHQ-9 (9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire) | |
| ALSSQOL-20 (ALS-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire-Brief Form) | |
| CDC HQOL-4 (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention-Health-Related Quality of Life) | |
| Study assessment questionnaires: carer/relative | b-DAS (Brief Dimensional Apathy Scale) |
| CARE-MND data request | Clinical phenotype data |
Date of diagnosis | |
Age at diagnosis | |
Classification of MND | |
Site of onset | |
Family history | |
| CARE-MND or MND-SMART data request | ALS-FRS (R) (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale- Revised) |
| ECAS (Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen) | |
| MND-SMART data request | MND-SMART recruitment and retention data |
Date MND-SMART Participant Information Sheet given | |
Date of screening | |
Date of randomisation | |
Date of withdrawal | |
Date of last appointment if withdrawn | |
Reason for withdrawal if provided | |
Status (alive/deceased) | |
Date of death (if applicable) |
CARE, Clinical Audit Research and Evaluation; MND, motor neuron disease; SMART, Systematic Multi-Arm Randomised Adaptive Trial.
Criteria for FIT-participation-MND participants and caregivers
| Inclusion criteria | Over 18 |
Confirmed diagnosis of MND (including the following subtypes: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis by El Escorial Criteria (possible, probable and definite), primary lateral sclerosis and progressive muscular atrophy) | |
Able to provide informed consent (proxy signature accepted if limb dysfunction) | |
Fluent in English | |
| Exclusion criteria | Diagnosis of Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD-MND) |
Unable to provide informed consent | |
Resident outside Scotland | |
| Inclusion criteria | Able and willing to complete a brief questionnaire regarding the participant’s behaviour |
Family member, spouse, relative, friend or partner for pwMND | |
Primary caring responsibilities for pwMND | |
Fluent in English | |
| Exclusion criteria | Paid carers–excluded to ensure they know the person pre-MND diagnosis |
Not fluent in English | |
Unable to provide informed consent | |
Diagnosis of MND | |
FIT, factors influencing trial-participation; MND, motor neuron disease.
Grouping of exploratory covariates
| Grouping | Assessment or data included | Impairment thresholds |
| Attitudes | ACT-Q (Attitudes towards Clinical Trial Participation Questionnaire) | Not applicable |
| Quality of life | CDC HQOL-4 (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention-Health-Related Quality of Life) | Not applicable |
| ALSSQOL-20 (ALS-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire-Brief Form) | ||
| Cognitive impairment | ECAS (Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen) | Total score is 136 where a higher score indicates better performance. Scores below 105 are considered abnormal |
| Behavioural change | b-DAS (Brief Dimensional Apathy Scale) | Each subscale has a minimum score of 0 (least apathy) and a maximum score of 9 (most apathy) |
Impairment defined as score per subscale: | ||
| Executive ≥4 | ||
| Emotional ≥5 | ||
| Initiation ≥6 | ||
| ECAS Behavioural Screen Subscale | Carer-completed behavioural change screen | |
| Indicate yes/no to symptoms, score 1 for every symptoms present out of 10 | ||
| Carer-completed psychosis screen | ||
| Indicate yes/no to symptoms, score 1 for every symptoms present out of 3 | ||
| Physical functioning | ALS-FRS (R) (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised) | Twelve tasks rated from 0 (cannot do) to 4 (normal ability). Summed score between 0 (worst) and 48 (best) |
| Neuropsychiatric | HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) | Maximum total score is 24 |
| Total of 12 per subscale | ||
| (≥9) Severe | ||
| (7–8) Moderate | ||
| (≤6) Mild | ||
| STAI-Y (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Form Y) | Total score ranges 20–80 | |
| (≥60) High | ||
| (40–59) Moderate | ||
| (20–39) Low | ||
| PHQ-9 (9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire) | Depression: | |
| Total score ranges from 0 to 27 | ||
| (20–27) Severe | ||
| (15–19) Moderately severe | ||
| (10–14) Moderate | ||
| (5–9) Mild | ||
| (1–4) Minimal | ||
| Suicidality: | ||
| Item 9 scores from (0) not at all | ||
| 1. Several days | ||
| 2. More than half the days | ||
| 3. Nearly every day | ||
| Scores of | ||
| Clinical phenotype | MND classification | Not applicable |
Site of onset (spinal, bulbar, pure respiratory) | ||
Age at diagnosis |
MND, motor neuron disease.
Items of the Attitudes to Clinical Trials Questionnaire (ACT-Q) and grouping
| Category | Item |
| Practical burden | 1. The time commitment required to participate |
| 2. The distance to the clinic is too far | |
| 3. I already feel I have a lot of appointments | |
| Disease burden | 4 I would not feel well enough to participate because of how my condition affects me |
| 5. I am concerned about the potential dangers and side effects of trial medications | |
| Altruistic motivations | 6. I may not benefit personally from the development of new drugs |
| 7. I am worried about the possibility of being assigned to the placebo group | |
| 8. I want to help other people with the same condition as me | |
| 9. I want the opportunity to contribute to research | |
| Practical benefits | 10. I will get additional monitoring of how my condition is changing |
| 11. I will receive more regular contact with medical staff | |
| 12. I may get to try new medicines which are not available to everyone with my condition | |
| Research engagement | 13. I am already participating in other research projects |
| 14. I have participated in research before and had a positive experience |