Practical questions

If the patient dies, what do we do with informed consent? If the patient dies before 24h or after?

We always need informed consent, no matter how long the patient has been included.

However:

If the patient dies without regaining consciousness, and doesn't have a relative ore next of kin to sign an I.C?

We always need informed consent. However the steering committee have decided that this kind of patient is included in the study, despite the lack of informed consent.  That is, we collect the data we need for the study.

A thorough search for relatives needs to be done before the decision is made to include the patient. Always contact P.I. at Uppsala University Hospital when these situations occurs.

Is there a pause in recruiting during the summer?

No, we continue recruiting during the summer. Joanna and Elin will be available on email and phone during the summer.

IQ code.

When is the best time to give it to the patients next of kin?

We recommend that you give it together with the informed consent as soon as possible after randomization, so the next of kin is not affected from the patients illness when answering the questions.