Severe respiratory failure and sepsis – Bench to bedside and future research directions

2pm – 3.30pm BST, 2 July 2025 ‐ 1 hour 30 mins

Stream 1

This session will examine the clinical and biological heterogeneity underlying pneumonia, ARDS, and sepsis, and evaluate the potential of precision medicine to improve outcomes through more individualised therapeutic strategies. The evolving role of corticosteroids in severe pneumonia will be critically reviewed, including discussion on their broader applicability and relevance to emerging clinical trials. The session will also explore current research priorities in sepsis, including insights from the NIHR-funded VACIRiSS trial investigating a novel vaccine to promote immune recovery in sepsis survivors, and an overview of the Sepsis James Lind Alliance (JLA) Priority Setting Partnership, highlighting key directions for future research and implementation.

Learning objectives

  1. Recognise the diverse lung phenotypes in pneumonia and ARDS.
  2. Evaluate the potential benefits of precision medicine to inform targeted treatment strategies and improve patient outcomes
  3. Analysis of the current evidence on steroid efficacy and safety, as well as considerations that led to the GuARDS Trial.
  4. Understand the potential impact of the PANTHER platform trial in ARDS.
  5. Identify the current priorities in sepsis diagnosis and management.

Chaired by Bairbre McNicolas

Andrew Conway Morris - Identifying lung phenotypes in pneumonia and ARDS – time for personalised medicine 

Manu Shankar-Hari - Corticosteroids – why extrapolating evidence from CAP to ARDS is a bad idea?

Danny McAuley - Towards precision medicine in ARDS

Bronwen Connolly - Sepsis JLA priority setting exercise

Manu Shankar-Hari - Pneumococcal vaccination to accelerate recovery in sepsis survivors: The VACIRiSS Trial