Clinical trial · Observational
Assessment of Verbal Comprehension and Cognitive Processes in Patients Admitted to the Palliative and Supportive Care Unit
Can You Hear Me? Assessment of Verbal Comprehension and Cognitive Processes in Patients in the Last Days of Life
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Why stopped (as posted): PI Request
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
This study investigates the use electroencephalography (EEG - a test that measures brain waves) to learn if patients who appear unresponsive (do not respond to noises, words, or touch) retain any consciousness. Families want to know if their loved ones who are unresponsive can still hear them or feel any discomfort. Information gained from this study may have important impact in how patients, caregivers, and doctors make decisions.
Conditions
Conditions (4)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Cell Neoplasm | Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Cell Neoplasm | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
| Locally Advanced Malignant Solid Neoplasm | Malignant Solid Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.78 |
| Metastatic Malignant Solid Neoplasm | Malignant Solid Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.78 |
| Recurrent Malignant Solid Neoplasm | Malignant Solid Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.78 |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electroencephalography | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Questionnaire Administration | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- label
- Observational (EEG, questionnaires)
- description
- Patients undergo EEG over 30 minutes daily until death or discharge and complete questionnaires over 30 minutes daily until death or discharge to check level of consciousness, thought, and ability to communicate.
- interventionNames
- Procedure: Electroencephalography
- Other: Questionnaire Administration
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Magnitude of electroencephalography (EEG) response to verbal stimuli among impending death cancer patients
- timeFrame
- Day 1 in palliative and supportive care unit
- description
- The magnitudes of EEG responses in each task will be calculated as the difference between pre-stimulus and post-stimulus, separately. 95% confidence intervals will be estimated for each task.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: 1. \[Both cohorts\] Diagnosis of advanced cancer (defined as locally advanced, metastatic, recurrent, or incurable disease) 2. \[Both cohorts\] Admitted to the PSCU at MD Anderson Cancer Center or seen by the specialist palliative care inpatient consultation team (control cohort only) 3. \[Impending death cohort\] Clinician judgement of .3 days of survival or .1 late sign of impending death\* 4. \[Impending death cohort\] Palliative Performance Scale score of 10-20% 5. \[Control cohort\] Able to communicate for the past 24 hours 6. \[Control cohort\] Clinician judgement of .1 month of survival 7. \[Both cohorts\] English-speaking Exclusion Criteria: 1. \[Both cohorts\] Hearing impairment that significantly impacts daily communication with caregiver prior to entering impending death phase OR requiring hearing aid 2. \[Impending death cohort\] Mental status changes only related to medications as per clinician judgement 3. \[Control cohort\] Diagnosis of delirium (i.e. MDAS .13) 4. \[Both cohorts\] Pregnant women 5. \[Both Cohorts\] Age \< 18 years old
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available