Research Areas and Current Research Projects
Detailed below are the projects that the Nepean Intensive Care Research team is involved in:
- Current Clinical Trials
- AROUSE – A routine interruption to sedation. A randomised controlled, double blind trial of routine daily interruption to sedation versus standard practice in mechanically ventilated patients. - L. Weisbrodt, S. McKinley, A. Marshall, L. Cole, I Seppelt
- NICE - Multi-centre, open label, randomised controlled trial of two target ranges for glycaemic control in Intensive Care Unit patients. Principal Investigator for Nepean – Dr L Cole
- RENAL - Multicentre, unblinded, randomised, controlled trial to assess the effect of augmented vs. normal continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) on 90-day all-cause mortality of Intensive Care Unit patients with severe Acute Renal Failure (ARF). Principal Investigator for Nepean - Dr Louise Cole
- DECRA - Multi-center prospective randomised trial of early decompressive craniectomy in patients with severe traumatic brain injury. Principal Investigator for Nepean – Dr I Seppelt
- PROTECT – Multicenter, prospective, randomized, stratified, concealed, blinded, trial to evaluate the effect of LMWH vs. UFH on the primary outcome of proximal leg DVT diagnosed by compression ultrasound, and the secondary outcomes of PE, bleeding, HIT, and objectively confirmed venous thrombosis at any site. Principal Investigator for Nepean - Dr I Seppelt
- CAPtivate - A Multicenter, phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, three-Arm study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of tifacogin (Recombinant Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor) administration in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia. Principal Investigator for Nepean – Dr I Seppelt.
- VALID - A multinational, randomized, Multicentre, parallel group, double blind, control group study examining the impact of Venticute® (rSP-C Surfactant) in patients with pneumonia or aspiration of gastric contents leading to intubation, mechanical ventilation, and severe oxygenation impairment. - Principal Investigator for Nepean – Dr I Seppelt
- Early PN - Early partenteral nutrition vs. standard care in the critically ill patient: An Anzics CTG endorsed level 1 randomised control trial.
Other Research Areas
Cardiovascular:
- The use of cardiac markers in predicting and identifying cardiac diseases
- The treatment of acute decompensated heart failure
- Echocardiography in the Intensive Care Unit
- Sepsis-induced myocardial depression
Sepsis:
- The use of microarrays in identifying septic patients
- The role of purines in septic shock
Molecular Biology:
- Genomic expression in sepsis
- Microdialysis:
- The changes in metabolite and cytokine levels in the brain in brain trauma patients
Renal:
- Renal replacement therapy
Collaborations
- Ramaciotti Centre, UNSW – Genomic expression in septic shock patients
- Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, UTS – the AROUSE study
- The Australian Proteome Analysis Facility, Macquarie University
- ANZICS CTG - AROUSE, NICE, RENAL, DECRA, Early PN
- Canadian CTG - PROTECT
- The George Institute - NICE, RENAL