Interdisciplinary Task Force Develops First Comprehensive Agenda for Critical Care Research

Kristie AylettAACN Communications(228) 229-9472[email protected]

Newswise — The first comprehensive agenda intended to guide critical care research outlines a series of recommendations across the spectrum of critical care and encourages increased cooperation among all stakeholders.

Titled "Multisociety Task Force for Critical Care Research: Key Issues and Recommendations," the report represents the evidence-based expert opinions of a 25-member task force of representatives from the Critical Care Societies Collaborative and the U.S. Critical Illness and Injury Trials Group (USCIITG). The report contains the themes and recommendations developed by a cross-section of critical care scientists, clinicians and educators.

The task force identified challenges, specific priority areas and recommendations for process improvements to support critical care research across healthcare disciplines. Four overarching themes emerge in the report: 1) The traditional “silo” approach to critical care research must be modified. 2) A better approach is one that more effectively links areas of research (i.e., basic and translational research, or clinical research and implementation).3) Future approaches to human research should account for disease complexity and patient heterogeneity.4) Critical care research requires an enhanced infrastructure for future success.

Additionally, the report includes specific recommendations for the full spectrum of critical care research encompassing basic science, clinical, translational, education and health service and delivery.

In addition to the overarching recommendations, the task force identified several opportunities to improve processes for effective critical care research. At the core is a need for better interaction and communication within and among research institutions and entities.

Four leading critical care scientific journals — American Journal of Critical Care, CHEST, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and Critical Care Medicine — will publish the full manuscript in their January 2012 issues. Critical Care Nurse will publish the report’s executive summary in its February 2012 issue.

The CCSC consists of leadership from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Thoracic Society and the Society of Critical Care Medicine. The USCIITG is a clinical research collaborative funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

Collaborating as report authors are Clifford Deutschman, MS, MD; Tom Ahrens, DNS, RN, CCNS; Charles Cairns, MD; Curtis Sessler, MD, and Polly Parsons, MD, for the Critical Care Societies Collaborative/USCIITG Task Force on Critical Care Research. Deutschman is a professor of anesthesiology and critical care at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia. Ahrens is a research scientist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis. Cairns is professor and chair of emergency medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill. Sessler is professor of internal medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Parsons is professor and chair of the department of medicine at the University of Vermont in Burlington.

The task force developed the report to serve as a blueprint for future critical care initiatives undertaken by individual investigators and targeted requests for applications issued by foundations, the National Institutes of Health and other interested groups.

Visit the American Journal of Critical Care website to access the full report.

Participants on the Multisociety Strategic Planning Task Force for Critical Care Research are:• Tom Ahrens, DNS, RN, CCNS, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis• Derek Angus, MD, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh• Lance Becker, MD, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia• Gordon Bernard, MD, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.• Timothy G. Buchman, PhD, MD, Emory University, Atlanta• Charles B. Cairns, MD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill• J. Perren Cobb, MD, Harvard Medical School, Boston• Martha Curley, RN, PhD, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia• J. Randall Curtis, MD, MPH, University of Washington, Seattle• Clifford S. Deutschman, MS, MD, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia• E. Wesley Ely, MD, MPH, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.• Brian Erstad, PharmD, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.• Kalpalatha Guntupalli, MD, Baylor College of Medicine, Dallas• Leonard Hudson, MD, University of Washington, Seattle• Mitchell Levy, MD, Brown University, Providence, R.I.• Pamela Lipsett, MD, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore• Ronal Maier, MD, University of Washington, Seattle• Michael Matthay, MD, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco• Polly E. Parsons, MD, University of Vermont, Burlington• Kathleen Puntillo, RN, DNS, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco• Curtis N. Sessler, MD, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.• Galen Toews, MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor• Peter Ward, MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor• Jeanine Wiener-Kronish, MD, Harvard Medical School, Boston• Hector Wong, MD, University of Cincinnati

About the American Journal of Critical Care: The American Journal of Critical Care, a bimonthly scientific journal published by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, provides up-to-date clinical research that focuses on evidence-based practice applications. Established in 1992, it includes clinical and research studies, case reports, editorials and commentaries. AJCC enjoys a circulation of 96,000 and can be accessed at www.ajcconline.org.

About the Critical Care Societies Collaborative: The Critical Care Societies Collaborative (CCSC), www.ccsconline.org, promotes the exchange of ideas about critical care practice and ICU patient care among leaders from medicine, nursing, pharmacy and respiratory therapy. This multidisciplinary member organization includes the American College of Chest Physicians, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, American Thoracic Society and Society of Critical Care Medicine.

About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: Founded in 1969 and based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. AACN joins together the interests of more than 500,000 acute and critical care nurses and claims more than 230 chapters worldwide. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. To learn more about AACN, visit www.aacn.org, connect with the organization on Facebook at facebook.com/aacnface and follow AACN on Twitter at twitter.com/aacnme.