Optimal measurement of oxygenation defect in critically ill patients
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Optimal measurement of oxygenation defect in critically ill patients
IRAS ID
215630
Contact name
J K Baillie
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 28 days
Research summary
There are ways in which we can measure how well the lungs are functioning in order to describe a certain condition or monitor a patient’s progress in the critical care setting. Some of these measures specifically look at how well oxygen is transferred from the lungs to the blood. However, the lungs are very complex organs, so current measures are limited in their ability to predict a patient’s condition and their response to certain treatments, such as changes in the fraction of inspired oxygen. These include measures such as the P/F ratio, which looks at the difference between the partial pressures of oxygen in the blood, compared to how much oxygen is being delivered to the lungs. If we are able to compare blood samples from different patients, we may be able to find a superior measure that can be used to describe lung conditions more accurately. The potential impact of this would be to provide an improved research measure as well as giving the potential to avoid misinterpretation of patient’s results, leading to more appropriate management of patients on ventilators. We will recruit adult patients in the intensive care unit of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh who have ventilatory support, therefore will not have full capacity to consent. The procedure we will carry out involves two blood gas samples being taken – one being routine, another following a research intervention of a 30% increase in inspired oxygen. This will allow us to use multiple measures to predict the arterial partial pressure of oxygen and compare each to the true value. The study will begin in January 2017 and run for approximately 4 months in order to complete data analysis and write up a report that will contribute to a BMedSci Honours qualification.
REC name
Scotland A: Adults with Incapacity only
REC reference
16/SS/0209
Date of REC Opinion
26 Jan 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion