After resuscitation from out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), mechanical ventilation (MV) and respiratory management are fundamental to support patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and to minimise secondary brain injury. Best practices for MV and association with clinical outcomes in patients with OHCA remain unclear.

This protocol describes a pre-planned respiratory-focused series of sub-analyses within the Sedation, Temperature and Pressure after Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation (STEPCARE) trial, an ongoing interventional study evaluating 6-month mortality after randomisation in patients admitted to ICUs following OHCA. The primary aim is to describe real-world ventilator settings and gas-exchange targets during the first 72 hours after ICU admission in patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation after OHCA. Secondary aims include to estimate the incidence of respiratory complications during ICU stay (eg, ventilator-associated pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, barotrauma); and to explore the association between early ventilator settings/gas-exchange parameters and 6-month outcomes (mortality and neurological status). Exploratory aim is to characterise weaning and extubation practices, including timing and failure rates.

Eligible patients will include adult STEPCARE participants receiving invasive MV after return of spontaneous circulation with available respiratory data recorded within the STEPCARE database.

Data collected in the STEPCARE trial that will be analysed include patients’ prehospital characteristics; clinical examination at hospital admission and at ICU admission; ventilator settings and arterial blood gases recorded at predefined time points during ICU stay. In particular: MV setting (mode, tidal volume, positive end-expiratory pressure, fraction of inspired oxygen, tidal volume, mechanical power, plateau/driving pressures), gas-exchange values (arterial partial pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide, pH, arterial saturation of oxygen), timing of measurements and the occurrence/timing of respiratory complications and weaning outcomes.

The STEPCARE study has been approved by the regional ethics committee at Lund University (Dnr 2022-02425-01, Approved IRB on 2022-06-18) and by all ethics boards in the participating countries. No additional ethical approval is required for this predefined secondary analysis, as no further data collection or interventions will be performed. Findings will be disseminated through publication in peer-reviewed journals and, where appropriate, conference abstracts and presentations. Patients and the public were not involved.

NCT05564754.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide, making the development of self-management strategies crucial for preventing complications and improving clinical outcomes. This process involves symptom monitoring, treatment adherence, emotional management and a healthy lifestyle, among others. Reliable instruments are necessary to measure self-management, requiring robust psychometric properties. In this way, this COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN)-based systematic review aims to assess the quality of specific self-management instruments for adults with CVDs.

This systematic review will follow the COSMIN and be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocol. Searches will be conducted in seven databases: MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, EMBASE and CINAHL. Additionally, a manual search will be performed on PROQOLID, PROMIS and The Medical Outcome Trust websites. Studies on the development and validation of patient-reported instruments measuring specific self-management for individuals with CVDs will be included, without language or date restrictions. The search will be performed in November 2025, with the final version of the review expected to be completed in October 2026. Data extraction will follow COSMIN recommendations. The Modified Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach will be used to determine the quality of evidence. Instruments will be categorised according to COSMIN recommendations. All steps will be conducted by two independent reviewers, with a third reviewer involved in case of discrepancies. Additionally, the content of the instruments will be analysed and linked to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, following international recommendations.

This study does not require ethics committee approval as it is a review of published data. The review results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal publications and presentations at scientific conferences.

CRD42024605969.

Real-world data and patient-reported outcomes in diabetes in Emilia–Romagna is a multi-centric observational cohort study aimed at improving diabetes care in the Emilia–Romagna region, by exploring trends and predictors of clinical and psychological parameters in a large population of people with diabetes, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study has a mixed retrospective/prospective design. The retrospective component involves computerised data linkage of administrative and clinical data from the local health authorities of Romagna and Reggio Emilia, and the University Hospital of Parma, covering a population of approximately 100 000 prevalent cases with diabetes, followed throughout the years 2019–2024. The selection of data items collected in the reference time frame is based on the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) standard set for diabetes, including clinical, lifestyle, social and healthcare service measurements. The prospective component includes primary data collection of indicators of psychological well-being through the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, diabetes distress using the Problem Areas In Diabetes-Short Form and depression through the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, measured at 0–6 months in an overall sample of 455 people with type 2 diabetes. Statistical analysis will include descriptive analysis and multivariate logistic regression using a two-step federated approach.

The study has obtained ethics approval from the Ethics Committee of Romagna and the Ethics Committee of Area Vasta Emilia Nord. The results of the study will be published in scientific journals to evaluate quality and outcomes of diabetes care across the region.

NCT06639100.