The Society has been a long-term supporter of many of these studies which are now at the forefront of UK research against COVID-19 and is incredibly proud of both the pro-active and reactive research being undertaken by its Directors of Research.
Please assist where you can with this vital research and sign up to participate in any study possible to ensure this research continues.
The ISARIC 4C
The ISARIC 4C 4C (Coronavirus Clinical Characterisation Consortium) group is a leading consortium of professionals focused on improving our understanding of COVID-19. They are focussed on answering the following questions:
- How long are people infectious, and what body fluids are infectious?
- What puts people at higher risk of severe illness?
- What is the best way to diagnose the disease?
- Who should we treat early with drugs, and which drugs cause harm?
- Does the immune system in some patients do more harm than good?
- What other infections (such as pneumonia or flu) happen at the same time?
The UK needs a coordinated response to answer these questions as quickly as possible. Over the past nine years the Consortium have been preparing for a major outbreak, such as COVID-19, worldwide and the team deployed immediately and has been collecting data and samples since the first cases were reported in the UK.
You can find out more here. (https://isaric4c.net/)
Funding
ISARIC 4C is funded by a grant from UKRI (MRC) with a total value of £5.9 million to JK Baillie (PI), University of Edinburgh; MG Semple, University of Liverpool; and P Openshaw, Imperial College London (co-leads).
GenOMICC
Dr Kenneth Baillie - Intensive Care Society Director of Research
Genetic study, consent needed
GenOMICC (MRC/DHSC/FEAT/ICS/Wellcome-funded) is a UK-wide ICU study to identify variants underlying genetic susceptibility to critical illness with COVID-19, which may help identify new targets for treatment and mechanisms of disease. This study was funded in 2014 and was recruiting across the UK before the pandemic hit.
GenOMICC is now an NIHR urgent public health study and all COVID-19 patients are eligible to participate. So far there are 115 critical care units already signed up and we would encourage those who are yet to do so participate in this trial as soon as possible - https://genomicc.org/
GAINS Study
In 2022 and 2023 we teamed up with researchers to conduct a study funded by the Wellcome Trust to support intensive care staff who have experienced stressful or traumatic events from working in the COVID-19 pandemic.
This study aims to find out if a brief online intervention can reduce how frequently memories of these events pop unwanted into your mind (intrusive memories).
The psychological impact on intensive care as a result of the pandemic has left many still trying to make sense of what we have been through.
The study involved participants having at least two video calls with a researcher over a 14-week period and using the brief online intervention. They were initially guided by a researcher when using the intervetion, and were then able to use it as many times as they liked.