WIse CHoices in the ICU (WICH-ICU): Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan for a Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial of Choosing Wisely Interventions in Swedish Intensive Care Units.

Authors

Emma Larsson, Arman Valadkhani, Jesper Eriksson, Erik Svensk, Fredrik Hammarskjöld, Markus Castegren, Peter Bentzer, Nicklas Nielsen, Kristina Svennerholm, Mikael Eriksson, Max Bell

Published in

Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica. Volume 70. Issue 10. Pages e70339.

Abstract

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.
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.
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.
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT07013175.

PMID:
42778513
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Sep 2026.

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