ICU-related Out of Pocket Expenses (ICOPE)

Condition(s) studied

Study summary

The ICU-related Out-of-Pocket Expenses (ICOPE) study is a multinational, prospective observational study conducted in African and Asian countries to quantify ICU-related out-of-pocket expenditures and catastrophic health expenditure among patients and families. The study will include all patients admitted to participating ICUs during a predefined 14-day recruitment window, provided they have an ICU stay longer than 24 hours and informed consent is obtained. A minimum sample size of 354 patients is planned, including both ventilated and non-ventilated patients. Participants will be followed until ICU discharge, with additional follow-up at 30 days and 6 months after admission, resulting in a total study duration of 18 months. The primary objective is to quantify ICU-related out-of-pocket costs and assess the proportion of patients experiencing catastrophic health expenditure, comparing ventilated and non-ventilated groups, while secondary objectives include identifying risk factors for catastrophic expenditure and documenting coping strategies used by families to manage ICU costs.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Out of pocket cost per patient episode until ICU discharge — Throughout ICU stay, an average of 7 days
  Costs per complete patient episode, as actually spent in US dollars and International dollars (purchasing power parity exchange rate) in ventilated versus non-ventilated groups. OOPE is defined as the cost incurred by individuals or households at the time of receiving any healthcare services in the ICU, including the component of cost-sharing (the part not covered by a third party like, an insurer) and informal payments (e.g., tips and under-the-table payments), but excluding insurance premiums and any reimbursements from the third-party payers (e.g., the government, a health insurance fund or a private insurance company).
• Relative risk of CHE — Throughout ICU stay, an average of 7 days
  Relative risk of catastrophic health expenditure for ventilated versus non-ventilated groups

Trial sites (44)

+ 4 more sites — see the full list on the official registry below.