Canadian Critical Care Comparative Effectiveness Platform(e) d’évaluation Clinique Comparée en soins Critiques (CEPEC)
Using innovative approaches to stimulate research into critical care
Photo by Mathieu Lantier, Université de Sherbrooke
Intensive care patients who suffer from a wide range of illnesses receive treatments to support their vital functions, which are administered to everyone in a blanket way. Even though these treatments require significant resources and are associated with major health risks, little to no research has gone into them. Recent research advances have led to better studies that could very soon help doctors personalize this type of care and better adapt it to the needs of each patient so that it is more effective.
To achieve this goal, a clinical trial platform to continuously evaluate supportive modalities in critical care is about to be launched by Dr. François Lamontagne, Chair in Patient-Centred Research and Acute Care, thanks to a generous $1-million contribution from the Hewitt Foundation.
Starting point: Vasopressors
The newly created Critical Care Comparative Effectiveness Platform will eventually lead to multiple treatments that will be continuously studied at the same time. First, Dr. François Lamontagne’s team will focus on the impacts of vasopressors.
A number of pathologies have the effect of lowering blood pressure. Patients with this condition will receive vasopressors, which are drugs that raise blood pressure by increasing heart rate and contraction and constricting the blood vessels. However, these treatments also come with risks. The goal of the platform is to give doctors a better understanding of the effects of these medications so that they can personalize their administration.
An essential partnership that promises effective results
The Hewitt Foundation’s contribution marks the launch of this new project, which is a collaboration between the team of the Chair in Patient-Centred Research and Acute Care, the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group (CCCTG) and a number of international research partners, notably in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
“Vasopressors have been used in medicine for almost a century. Although this therapy is a core tool in the critical care tool box, their overall effect is not always certain. A health system must constantly improve the relevance and usefulness of the care it delivers. The commitment of partners plays a major role in developing and deploying these avenues of research. I am very grateful to the Hewitt Foundation for supporting our project from the very start, and I thank them deeply for this contribution!”
- Dr. François Lamontagne, Chair in Patient-Centred Research and Acute Care.
“The Hewitt Foundation wants to significantly improve the lives of Canadians and increase its impact by supporting innovation. In line with this mission, we are proud to contribute to Dr. François Lamontagne’s innovative critical care research project, whose ultimate goal is to save lives.”
- Kim Anderson, Chief Executive Officer, Hewitt Foundation
The launch of CEPEC represents an opportunity for collaboration with research sites across Canada. In the coming months, the CEPEC team looks forward to its continued engagement with the CCCTG in the creation of this innovative research platform.
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