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Intensive Care Department Research and Studies​



Ongoing trials:

  • Replacing Protein via Enteral Nutrition in a Stepwise Approach in Critically Ill Patients Randomized Controlled Trial (REPLENISH Trial)

It is an open-label multicenter, multinational randomized-controlled trial sponsored by King Abdullah International Research Center. This study aims to compare the effect of high protein intake (with the addition of whey protein) compared to a moderate amount (no added protein) from day 5 of ICU till discharge or day 90 on outcomes in critically ill patients. The patient will be under the study from day 5 to ICU

Discharge or day 90, whichever comes first.

This study aims to enroll 2502 patients in collaboration between National Guard hospitals: Riyadh, Al-Ahsa, MADINAH, and Jeddah.

And also other hospitals in the Kingdom, such as King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, King Saud Medical City in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, King Fahd Medical City in Riyadh, Prince Sultan Military Medical City in Riyadh, King Khalid University, Asir Central Hospital In addition: Other hospitals in the Middle East, such as Al-Amiri Hospital - Kuwait.

  • A Randomised, Embedded, Multi-factorial, Adaptive Platform Trial for Community-Acquired Pneumonia REMAP-CAP

REMAP-CAP is a global network of leading experts, institutions, and research networks. With over 250 participating worldwide, REMAP-CAP

REMAP-CAP uses a novel and innovative adaptive trial design to evaluate several treatment options simultaneously and efficiently. This design can adapt in the event of pandemics and increases the likelihood that patients will receive the treatment that is most likely to be effective for them.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a syndrome in which individuals who have not been hospitalized recently develop an acute infection of the lungs. Bacterial and viral infections are responsible for the vast majority of CAP.

Patients eligible for participation in REMAP-CAP will be randomized to receive one intervention in each of one or more categories of treatment ("domains"). These interventions can be tested simultaneously.

  • Proportional Assist Ventilation for Minimizing the Duration of Mechanical Ventilation: The PROMIZING Study (PROMIZING)

Mechanical ventilation is the most common form of life support required by most patients who receive treatment in intensive care units. Although mechanical ventilation is essential in such situations, it can induce weakness of the respiratory muscles, which may lead to prolonged dependence on the ventilator. Prolonged dependence on mechanical ventilation is associated with worse patient outcomes and high costs to the healthcare system.

Pressure support ventilation (PSV) is the most frequently used mode of ventilation for assisting the breathing of patients during the recovery phase of acute respiratory failure. Proportional assist ventilation (PAV) is a newer method of mechanical ventilation that delivers assistance to breathe in proportion to the patient's effort. This method may preserve respiratory muscle function while supporting the patient's need for respiratory assistance.

Several studies have shown short-term advantages of PAV over PSV, including improved patient-ventilator synchronization, improved adaptability to changes in patient effort, and improved sleep quality. No studies show either method's superiority for clinically important outcomes.

Our study will compare PAV to PSV using a randomized controlled trial. Our study is designed to demonstrate that PAV reduces time on mechanical ventilation by at least 1.5 days.

  • Bacteremia Antibiotic Length Needed for Clinical Effectiveness (BALANCE): A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Bloodstream infection means the presence of bacteria in the blood, which causes illness and is common in patients during the hospital stay. In some people, it is the cause of hospital stay, and in others, it develops during the hospital stay. Such infections require urgent treatment with antibiotics. Limited literature is available to guide physicians about how long to treat these patients. Long durations of treatment (14 days) may result in unnecessary side effects and antibiotic resistance. Recent data from some research studies have suggested that a shorter duration of antibiotic therapy (<7 days) is as effective as a longer duration of treatment for many infections due to bacteria. However, this has not been confirmed/tested in patients with bloodstream infections.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether, in patients with bloodstream infection, shorter duration antibiotic treatment (7 days) is associated with the same survival rates at 90 days compared to those achieved with longer duration antibiotic treatment (14 days).

The current study is designed to find the best possible duration of antibiotic treatment in patients with bloodstream infections and will answer whether patients with bloodstream infections can be treated with a substantially shorter duration of antibiotic therapy. Establishing the optimal treatment duration for this population will represent a major advance in health-related knowledge. Suppose shorter duration treatment is as good as longer duration treatment. In that case, findings may also be generalizable to non-bacteremic populations and could generate larger health-system-wide reductions in unnecessary antimicrobial use, costs, and resistance.

  • Re-EValuating the Inhibition of Stress Erosions and prophylaxis against gastrointestinal bleeding in the critically ill (REVISE Trial) in King Abdulaziz Medical City under the supervision of King Abdullah International Medical Research Center.

This study is a randomized control trial. It is sponsored by Canada Research Chair from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR)-at McMaster University. This study will be conducted in Canada and other countries. Also, it will be conducted in King Abdulaziz Medical Center (KAMC) Riyadh.

The total number expected to participate in this study is 4800 participants among global, local, and middle eastern.

The purpose of this project is to determine in critically ill patients if pantoprazole (a drug that decreases the acid production in the stomach) is effective in preventing bleeding from stomach ulcers or whether it causes more problems such as lung infection (pneumonia) and bowel infection (Clostridium difficile).

  • Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Biological Sampling Study

Infectious diseases affect millions of people worldwide every year, and there is a great deal that we do not understand about existing infections, and new infectious diseases continue to appear.

This research study will gain important information about respiratory infections, so we can find better ways to manage and treat them in the future.

The prospective observational cohort study collaborates between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infections Consortium (ISARIC). The study is conducted at multiple sites (to be determined by the spread of disease and availability of resources).

Patient data is collected by staff at each site, and it is submitted electronically to a protected online database. Patient's identities will be protected, and their information will be held securely. Furthermore, multiple studies can be done using this rich database.

Objectives of a study:

  • Describe the clinical features and response to the treatment of SARI.

  • Observe pathogen replication, excretion, and evolution, within the host, and identify determinants of severity.

  • Develop clinical guidance documents and offer clinical recommendations to policymakers based on evidence obtained.

  • Determine appropriate infection control measures for the various pathogens.

Intensive Care Department Publications

Fellows' and Residents' research

Fellows and residents in the Intensive Care Department are participating in research at the global and local levels. They have contributed to many seminars and presented scientific lectures, such as The Saudi Society of Critical Care Medicine.

Critical care fellowship and residency program

The Fellowship and Residency Program in the Intensive Care Department is a unique program. The trainee can care for critically ill patients with supervision, including patients with trauma, organ transplant, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation "ECMO."

In addition, there is a simulation lab inside the division of the critical care department, which facilitate training opportunities using simulation methods.

Moreover, fellows and residents participate in many quality projects in the intensive care unit to improve the patients' and their families' overall quality of care.