https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4504-5352
Abstract
The inclusion of patient representatives as study consultants brings diverse perspectives, insights, and experiences to clinical trial design and execution, and their role in the clinical trial development process is being increasingly recognized and valued. The APPETIZE study evaluated the palatability of, and preference for, three potassium binders for treating hyperkalemia in patients with chronic kidney disease. A core aspect of the development of this study was the inclusion of a patient representative during the design stage. Here, I describe the process of patient involvement in the APPETIZE study design (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04566653), the resultant positive impacts, and key learnings. A patient with chronic kidney disease was invited to be a member of the APPETIZE trial design team. This patient representative attended study team meetings and provided invaluable input into protocol development, questionnaire selection, design of patient information sheets and consent forms, and primary manuscript structure. These critical insights resulted in an enhanced trial design and generation of high-quality, patient-relevant data. APPETIZE provides an excellent example of a patient preference study that relied on input from multiple stakeholder groups, including, most notably, the patients themselves. This approach may serve as a model for early and deep patient engagement in the design and interpretation of clinical trials.
Acknowledgments
Medical writing support was provided by David McMinn, PhD, and Matty Stone, MRes, and editorial support by Jess Galbraith, BSc, of Core (a division of Prime, London, UK), supported by AstraZeneca according to Good Publication Practice guidelines (https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M22-1460). Eric Wittbrodt, of AstraZeneca provided input into the sections “How were patients involved in the design of this trial?” and “What was the impact of patient involvement on this trial?”.
Disclosure
HS reports no conflicts of interest in this work.