Algorithm-based care for treating chronic pancreatitis: a nationwide stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial - PubMed
5 hours ago
- #pain management
- #chronic pancreatitis
- #evidence-based care
- Study aimed to improve quality of life and reduce pain in chronic pancreatitis patients using an evidence-based management algorithm.
- A nationwide stepped-wedge cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted across 26 Dutch centers.
- 418 patients with chronic pancreatitis were included in the study.
- Algorithm-guided care improved pain scores but did not reach the predefined clinically relevant threshold.
- No significant change in quality of life (PANQOLI score) was observed.
- Median protocol adherence was 68.8% among patients who completed follow-up.
- Subgroup analyses showed better outcomes with higher protocol adherence, especially in patients with severe pain or low quality of life at baseline.
- No overall superiority of the algorithm over standard practice was found for all patients.