Top 10 Research Priorities for Intensive Care now published

The Intensive Care Society is proud to announce the publication of the top 10 research priorities for intensive care, delivered in partnership with the James Lind Alliance (JLA) Priority Setting Partnership (PSP). The priorities are a huge step forward in supporting the establishment of a clear and collaborative roadmap for future life-saving research.

Over the last year, we have worked alongside National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the JLA to identify the most pressing research questions in intensive care.

The top ten priorities are as follows:

1. What are the best ways to prevent, lessen or treat delirium (confusion and changes in awareness) in ICU, using medicines and non-medicine strategies tailored to individual needs?
2. What are the best ways to promote psychological and emotional recovery after ICU discharge for patients with Post-Traumatic Stress or other psychological consequences of critical illness?    
3. How can Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) be prevented, and if it occurs, what are the best treatments, rehabilitation and support for recovery and quality of life after ICU?
4. How can new knowledge, treatments, therapies, and technologies be quickly and safely brought into (implemented) ICU care, while stopping outdated practices like heavy sedation and routine use of mucus clearing drugs (drugs used to clear secretions from airways)?
5. What are the best ways to improve discharge from ICU to ensure continuity of care and patient support, including sharing of information?
6. What are the best ways to support ICU patients who are struggling to communicate to improve psychological wellbeing and recovery?
7. How can the ICU environment be adjusted to improve experience and outcomes for patients and families? For example, noise levels, natural light, interruptions to sleep, time awareness, access to a garden?
8. What are the best ways to enable the presence of family/friends in the ICU, and/or their involvement in care?
9. How can access to follow-up and rehabilitation services after ICU be provided, including with community and primary care?
10.  How can early and accurate diagnosis and treatment of infection in ICU be improved to distinguish infection from non-infectious inflammation?

Professor Sarah Wallace OBE, JLA PSP Co-Lead and Professor and Consultant Speech and Language Therapist at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, says:

From over 1,500 research questions from over 500 respondents, we have reached our top 10 priorities for intensive care research. A broad cross-section of patients, their loved ones and clinicians joined us in our final workshop to inform what the future of intensive care research should look like.

True to the core values of the Society, this PSP has placed patients, families, and the multi-professional workforce at the very heart of the process - your contribution has been immeasurable every step of the way.

By bringing together our entire community of critical care survivors, carers, loved ones, and frontline healthcare professionals, the partnership has highlighted the essential questions that must be answered to improve outcomes across ICU treatment and long-term recovery.

Professor Louise Rose MBE, JLA PSP Co-Lead and Professor of Critical Care Nursing at King’s College London, says:

Now we have our list of priorities, we must look forward to implementing the results of the JLA project. In the next phase, we will explore how to secure crucial research that will help us unlock the pressing questions for our intensive care community.

We strongly encourage funding bodies and research organisations to use these priorities to shape their future strategic funding streams and grant allocations; enabling researchers, academic institutions, and clinical trials units to design and deliver high-quality studies

Following the rigorous JLA framework, the project began with an initial survey that invited the wider critical care community to share the uncertainties most meaningful to them. This survey was completed by 542 respondents, who submitted a total of 1593 research questions. Through careful collation and analysis, these were refined into a shortlist of 59 unanswered research questions. A subsequent shortlisting survey further narrowed the field to 23 topics for final deliberation.

On 7 May we held a final priority-setting workshop, where patients, relatives, and clinicians debated the remaining questions to reach a definitive consensus on the Top 10 research priorities. These priorities reflect a shared vision for the future of intensive care, ensuring that upcoming research directly addresses the needs of those who deliver and receive care.

Professor Charlotte Summers, JLA PSP Co-Lead and NIHR National Specialty Lead for Critical Care, says:

This is the product of a fruitful and enriching collaboration with NIHR, JLA and ICS to shape research priorities for the next decade in, using their voices to create an inclusive and collaborative picture of intensive care research. As we launch priorities, we remain committed to work collaboratively to advance treatment, care and experiences of patients across the UK

Professor Shondipon Laha, President of the Intensive Care Society, says:

I am truly delighted to mark the launch of these top ten priorities today. They reflect not only where we are, but where we aspire to go –shaped by lived experience and driven by a shared determination to improve care for all.

Together, these priorities challenge us to think boldly, to innovate, and to work in partnership to tackle inequities, strengthen sustainability, and ensure that every patient, everywhere, benefits from the very best of intensive care.

This is our moment to lead—with purpose, with collaboration, and with ambition. I am inspired by the direction we are setting, and confident that, together, we will turn these priorities into real and lasting change for patients and families across the country.