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Intensive Care Service Research

The RPA Intensive Care Service (ICS) conducts and participates in research activities at a local, national, and international level. Our participation in clinical research exerts a positive influence on the quality of care for all the critically ill adults that we care for. The ICS has an active local research program and makes a prolific contribution to investigator-initiated randomised clinical trials in intensive care medicine via its membership of the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group (ANZICS CTG). 

Our Research Team

Associate Professor David Gattas Director of Research, Principal Investigator, Co-investigator
Heidi Buhr Research Clinical Nurse Consultant, Principal Investigator, Co-investigator, Vice Chair of the ICU Research Coordinator Interest Group (IRCIG), an endorsed working party of the ANZICS CTG
Cindy Liang Research Coordinator, Co-investigator
Bronwyn Kelly Research Coordinator, Co-investigator

Selected Grants

Amount awarded Grant and project details
$674,400 NHMRC, 2025-2029
Developing high-quality, clinically relevant and person-centred interventions to optimise communication function for adults with critical illness.
Investigator: Freeman-Sanderson A.
$24,866 ANZIC-RC CRE Seed Grant, 2024-2026
Validation of the Communication with an Artificial airway Tool (Cat): The CRIT-CAT multi-site study.
Investigator: Freeman-Sanderson A.
$44,000 Intensive Care Foundation, 2023-2025
BLUSH trial - Phase 2b, randomised controlled trial of Bivalirudin versus Heparin in ECMO - a feasibility trail.
Investigator: Southwood T

Our Publications

2024

Anstey MH, Maxwell N, Rickard CM, Hammond NE, Knowles S, McGain F; George Institute for Global Health and the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group, Steering Committee members; Coordinating centre List of investigators; Site List of investigators. How often are infusion sets for central venous catheters changed in Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Units? A point prevalence survey. Aust Crit Care. 2024 May;37(3):495-498. doi: 10.1016/j.aucc.2023.05.004. Epub 2023 Jun 27.
Burrell A, Bailey MJ, Bellomo R, Buscher H, Eastwood G, Forrest P, Fraser JF, Fulcher B, Gattas D, Higgins AM, Hodgson CL, Litton E, Martin EL, Nair P, Ng SJ, Orford N, Ottosen K, Paul E, Pellegrino V, Reid L, Shekar K, Totaro RJ, Trapani T, Udy A, Ziegenfuss M, Pilcher D; BLENDER Trial Investigators, EXCEL Registry, ECMONet and the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) Clinical Trials Group and Centre for Outcomes and Resource Evaluation. Conservative or liberal oxygen targets in patients on venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Intensive Care Med. 2024 Sep;50(9):1470-1483. doi: 10.1007/s00134-024-07564-8. Epub 2024 Aug 20. Erratum in: Intensive Care Med. 2024 Dec;50(12):2241-2242. doi: 10.1007/s00134-024-07677-0.
Carey S, Deng J, Ferrie S. The impact of malnutrition on cognition in older adults: A systematic review. Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2024 Oct;63:177-183. doi: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2024.06.014. Epub 2024 Jun 24.
Chapple LS, Ridley EJ, Ainscough K, Ballantyne L, Burrell A, Campbell L, Dux C, Ferrie S, Fetterplace K, Fox V, Jamei M, King V, Serpa Neto A, Nichol A, Osland E, Paul E, Summers MJ, Marshall AP, Udy A. Nutrition delivery across hospitalisation in critically ill patients with COVID-19: An observational study of the Australian experience. Aust Crit Care. 2024 May;37(3):422-428. doi: 10.1016/j.aucc.2023.05.001. Epub 2023 May 12.
Clayton NA, Freeman-Sanderson A, Walker E. Dysphagia Prevalence and Outcomes Associated with the Evolution of COVID-19 and Its Variants in Critically Ill Patients. Dysphagia. 2024 Feb;39(1):109-118. doi: 10.1007/s00455-023-10598-7. Epub 2023 Jun 22.
Clayton NA, Freeman-Sanderson A, Walker E. Prevalence and recovery of dysphonia in COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care treatment. Aust Crit Care. 2024 Jan;37(1):151-157. doi: 10.1016/j.aucc.2023.07.043. Epub 2023 Sep 13.
Clode M, Tran D, Majumdar A, Ayer J, Ferrie S, Cordina R. Nutritional considerations for people living with a Fontan circulation: a narrative review. Cardiol Young. 2024 Feb;34(2):238-249. doi: 10.1017/S1047951123004389. Epub 2024 Jan 23.
Davies H, Watkins PM, Freeman-Sanderson A, Nickels MR, Ankravs M, Ridley EJ, Brooks K, Udy AA, Massey D. Scoping review of review methodologies used for guiding evidence-based practice in critical care: a protocol. BMJ Open. 2024 Nov 19;14(11):e082661. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-082661.
Dennis M, Shekar K, Burrell AJ; National ECPR Working Group. Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation for refractory cardiac arrest in Australia: a narrative review. Med J Aust. 2024 Jan 15;220(1):46-53. doi: 10.5694/mja2.52130. Epub 2023 Oct 23.
Duffin SC, Askew JH, Southwood TJ, Forrest P, Plunkett B, Totaro RJ. Response to: "More than one pathway: ECMO training and credentialing". Crit Care Resusc. 2024 Aug 5;26(3):219. doi: 10.1016/j.ccrj.2024.07.001.
Dulhunty JM, Brett SJ, De Waele JJ, Rajbhandari D, Billot L, Cotta MO, Davis JS, Finfer S, Hammond NE, Knowles S, Liu X, McGuinness S, Mysore J, Paterson DL, Peake S, Rhodes A, Roberts JA, Roger C, Shirwadkar C, Starr T, Taylor C, Myburgh JA, Lipman J; BLING III Study Investigators. Continuous vs Intermittent β-Lactam Antibiotic Infusions in Critically Ill Patients With Sepsis: The BLING III Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2024 Aug 27;332(8):629-637. doi: 10.1001/jama.2024.9779. 
Ertugrul AD, Neto AS, Fulcher BJ, Charles-Nelson A, Bailey M, Burrell AJC, Anderson S, Bernard S, Board JV, Brodie D, Buhr H, Cooper DJ, Dicker C, Fan E, Fraser JF, Gattas DJ, Hopper IK, Huckson S, Linke NJ, Litton E, McGuinness SP, Nair P, Orford N, Parke RL, Pellegrino VA, Pilcher DV, Stub D, Udy AA, Reddi BAJ, Trapani TV, Jones A, Higgins AM, Hodgson CL; EXCEL Study Investigators and the International ECMO Network (ECMONet). Hospital-level volume in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation cases and death or disability at 6 months. Crit Care Resusc. 2024 Nov 22;26(4):262-270. doi: 10.1016/j.ccrj.2024.08.006.
Faraji H, Jamshidi S, Ferrie S, Azar PS. The Relationship between Healthy Eating Index and Lipid Profile in Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review. Int J Prev Med. 2024 Jan 31;15:6. doi: 10.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_404_22. 
Freeman-Sanderson A, Brodsky MB, Dale C, Gupta A, Haines K, Happ MB, Hart N, Hemsley B, Istanboulian L, Spronk P, Sullivan R, Sutt AL, Rose L. A Core Outcome Set for Research Evaluating Interventions to Enable Communication in Patients With an Artificial Airway: An International Delphi Consensus Study (Comm-COS). Crit Care Med. 2024 Sep 1;52(9):e450-e462. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000006347. Epub 2024 Jun 20.
Freeman-Sanderson A, Crisp J, Hodgson CL, Holland AE, Harrold M, Chan T, Tipping CJ. Prevalence, recovery, and factors associated with dysphagia in an older critically ill trauma cohort: A cross-sectional study. Aust Crit Care. 2024 Nov;37(6):957-963. doi: 10.1016/j.aucc.2023.10.005. Epub 2023 Dec 13.
Freeman-Sanderson A. Advancing healthcare excellence in ICU: highlighting the contribution of speech pathology. Aust Crit Care. 2024 Jan;37(1):1-2. doi: 10.1016/j.aucc.2024.01.003.
Goh T, Gao L, Singh J, Totaro R, Carey R, Yang K, Cartwright B, Dennis M, Ju LA, Waterhouse A. Platelet Adhesion and Activation in an ECMO Thrombosis-on-a-Chip Model. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2024 Aug;11(30):e2401524. doi: 10.1002/advs.202401524. Epub 2024 May 17.
Maiden MJ, Horton M, Power P, Knowles S, Hammond NE; George Institute for Global Health, the Australian, New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group. Critically ill patients having time outdoors: prevalence and resources in Australia and New Zealand. Intensive Care Med. 2024 Mar;50(3):475-477. doi: 10.1007/s00134-024-07355-1. Epub 2024 Feb 29.
Oliver M, Coggins A, Kruit N, Burns B, Plunkett B, Morgan S, Southwood TJ, Totaro R, Forrest P, Russell SB, Carey R, Dennis M. Implementing enhanced extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for CPR (ECPR) in the emergency department. Int J Emerg Med. 2024 Jun 10;17(1):71. doi: 10.1186/s12245-024-00652-y.
Serpa Neto A, Bailey M, Seller D, Agli A, Bellomo R, Brickell K, Broadley T, Buhr H, Gabbe BJ, Gould DW, Harrold M, Higgins AM, Hurford S, Iwashyna TJ, Nichol AD, Presneill JJ, Schaller SJ, Sivasuthan J, Tipping CJ, Poole A, Parke R, Bradley S, Webb S, Zoungas S, Young PJ, Hodgson CL; TEAM Study Investigators. Impact of High-Dose Early Mobilization on Outcomes for Patients with Diabetes: A Secondary Analysis of the TEAM Trial. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2024 Sep 15;210(6):779-787. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202312-2289OC. 
Vaara ST, Serpa Neto A, Bellomo R, Adhikari NKJ, Dreyfuss D, Gallagher M, Gaudry S, Hoste E, Joannidis M, Pettilä V, Wang AY, Kashani K, Wald R, Bagshaw SM, Ostermann M; STandard vs. Accelerated initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury (STARRT-AKI) Investigators. Regional Practice Variation and Outcomes in the Standard Versus Accelerated Initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury (STARRT-AKI) Trial: A Post Hoc Secondary Analysis. Crit Care Explor. 2024 Feb 19;6(2):e1053. doi: 10.1097/CCE.0000000000001053.
Worku E, Brodie D, Shekar K. Weaning From Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation-The Regensburg Way? Crit Care Med. 2024 Jan 1;52(1):147-150. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000006077. Epub 2023 Dec 14.
Worku E, Duffin S, Tarvade S, Rudas M. Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Ouroboros: A Rare Cause of Mass Recirculation During Femoro-Jugular Venovenous ECMO. ASAIO J. 2024 Sep 1;70(9):e137-e138. doi: 10.1097/MAT.0000000000002180. Epub 2024 Mar 19.
Zaga CJ, Papasavva CS, Hepworth G, Freeman-Sanderson A, Happ MB, Hoit JD, McGrath BA, Pandian V, Rose L, Sutt AL, Tuinman PR, Wallace S, Bellomo R, Vogel AP, Berney S. Development, feasibility testing, and preliminary evaluation of the Communication with an Artificial airway Tool (CAT): Results of the Crit-CAT pilot study. Aust Crit Care. 2024 Jan;37(1):127-137. doi: 10.1016/j.aucc.2023.09.007. Epub 2023 Oct 23.