Critical Care Health Informatics Collaborative - Renewal
Research type
Research Database
IRAS ID
351530
Contact name
Mervyn Singer
Contact email
Research summary
Critical Care Health Informatics Collaborative
REC name
London - South East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0030
Date of REC Opinion
26 Mar 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion
Data collection arrangements
Routinely obtained, electronic health record (EHR) data is extracted from all patients admitted to the Critical Care Units and high-risk surgical patients NOT admitted to critical care from the 9 participating Trusts. This data, which includes data from the entire hospital episode, describes the patients demographics, physiology, laboratory and treatment data. This data is acquired at the same frequency as recorded in the EHR across the entirety of the hospital and critical care stay. This fully identifiable data is securely transferred to a specialised Data Safe Haven within University College London. The identifiers within the data are used to link that data to the Hospital Episode Statistics database held by NHS Digital to track long terms outcomes of survivors. This has created one of the most comprehensive critical care databases within the world and is available to researchers to ask relevant questions. Due to the need for complete data, the large volume of patients involved and high levels of incapacity s251 support is requested.
Researchers applying to access this data go through a process to ensure the research is scientifically valid, in the public interest and does not risk re-identification of patient.
Research programme
The database is designed to improve knowledge and understanding in critical illness and high risk surgery by allowing researchers to answer a large range of research questions. Broadly these questions may fall into: 1) Understanding the epidemiology of critical illness (e.g. sepsis, kidney failure) including the lead up and the immediate consequences of a critical illness. 2) Better prediction of short term outcomes to inform clinicians, policy makers, patients and next of kin thus allowing better decision making 3) Understanding the 'value' of critical care by examining outcomes of high risk surgical patients that are admitted to the critical care unit compared to those managed on the general ward 4)An understanding, hereto impossible, of longer terms outcome: -Do critical care survivors have a reduced life span? -What is the health care utilisation in the years after discharge? -Are survivors more likely to develop heart disease or cancer 5) Health services research 6) Monitoring the impact of high level changes such as Martha's law or NICE guidelines 7) Improved understanding of clinical trials, allowing investigators to examine changing inclusion criteria and outcomes and improved prediction of recruitment rates and control outcomes. 8) Improved understanding of disease and treatment associations.
Research database title
Critical Care Health Informatics Collaborative
Establishment organisation
University College London
Establishment organisation address
Gower Street
London
WC1E 6BT