News and views
News and views from Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine
Intensive Care Sedation with dexmedetomidine, when and why?
Prof Yahya Shehabi – Monash University and University of NSW.
Inaugural William Mapleson lecture: Applications invited
Professor William (Bill) Mapleson was Professor and Chair in the Physics of Anaesthesia at Cardiff University. He is best known for his A-E classification of the 5 Mapleson breathing circuits, published in 1954. He was a productive researcher and a superb teacher who inspired, trained and supported many clinicians and scientists. Quiet, unassuming and gentle, he was much loved and respected by the UK anaesthetic community and he received many awards and honours.
Welcoming Professor Manu Shankar-Hari to the ACE Community

Professor Manu Shankar-Hari has recently joined the University of Edinburgh as the new Chair of Translational Critical Care Medicine and Honorary Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine.
Dysaesthesia associated with thoracic surgery study

Many patients experience chronic pain after thoracic surgery and this is caused by nerve damage during surgery. Changes in skin sensation (dysaesthesia) is typically associated with chronic nerve pain.
Special Skills Year in Education
We are advertising an opportunity for ICM trainees to join the Edinburgh Critical Care Online team for a Special Skills Year in Education aligned with the FICM curriculum starting in academic year 2022/23. Further details below.
Result Hip begins recruitment

The impact of REStrictive versUs LIberaL Transfusion strategy on cardiac injury and death in patients undergoing surgery for Hip Fracture (RESULT-Hip)
Scottish Intensive Care Society Audit Group report on COVID-19 September 2021

Main Points Taken From the Report.
RESULT Hip

NIHR have agreed in principal to fund RESULT Hip which is a £2.3 M grant to conduct a clinical trial of blood transfusion strategy in people with hip fracture.
Life in the COVID Bubble: Voices from the Frontline of Critical Care
Based on interviews with frontline NHS staff, this immersive audio journey celebrates the resilience and compassion of those working in critical care as they faced the intense pressures at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 Critical Care online course: responding to the needs of clinical staff globally

This video outlines the COVID-19 Critical Care: Understanding and Application course hosted on FutureLearn. With testimonials from a selection of its students.
Edinburgh Critical Care Research Group: Our Voices Amidst The Virus

Sarah Clark and Jo Singleton, critical care research nurses, have brilliantly captured the voices and experiences of their colleagues during the Covid-19 pandemic.
9 months of discovery: How we found out why people die from Covid-19

Dr Kenneth Baillie, Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh and Intensive Care Unit, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
Study shows that poverty is linked to higher risk of mortality from Covid-19 in Scotland.

The study led by Dr Nazir Lone, found that of the 735 patients with Covid admitted to ICU, about a quarter were from the most deprived quintile compared with 13% from the least deprived quintile.
Principal’s Medal for Exceptional Contribution 2020

Graham Nimmo and David Griffith are joint winners of a Principal’s Medal for Exceptional Service this year.
A2B Clinical Study

The A2B Clinical study that aims to better control sedation for critically ill patients has resumed following a temporary pause due to restricted research activity during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in early Spring.
ISARIC-4C Lessons from 82 000 in-hospital patients with COVID-19

Annemarie Docherty and Ewen Harrison are featured in the Usher Institute Webinar series of talks.
Promotions for Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine staff.

Mike Gillies awarded title of Honorary Professor and David Griffith promoted to Reader.
Obesity, Chronic Kidney Disease and Liver Disease Associated with Increased Hospital Covid-19 Mortality

Dr AnneMarie Docherty, Professor Ewen Harrison and Dr Kenneth Baillie have published data in the British Medical Journal that characterises the clinical features of 20133 patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19 in the United Kingdom, during the growth phase of the first wave of this outbreak and explores risk factors associated with mortality in hospital.
Scottish Intensive Care Society Audit Group Report on Covid-19

The Scottish Intensive Care Society Audit Group (SICSAG) is the national adult critical care audit and quality assurance programme and is chaired by Dr Naz Lone (Consultant at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and is a Senior Clinical Lecturer in Critical Care at the Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh).
COVID-19 Critical Care Course

Dr Graham Nimmo has led a team effort to make a COVID-19 Critical Care Course freely available to clinical staff on the front line.
New funding to help understand how Covid-19 affects the most vulnerable

Dr Kenneth Baillie has secured funding from the Medical Research Council to work in partnership with Professor Peter Openshaw.
Support Prioritised for COVID-19 Research

A letter from the Scottish Chief Medical Officer to the NHS boards has emphasised the critical importance of research in the response to COVID-19 and have asked that resources are made available to support prioritised COVID-19 research.
RECOVERY Trial Recruitment

The RECOVERY trial will enable reliable assessment of the effects of multiple different treatments on major outcomes among people with COVID-19.
STOPCOVID

STOPCOVID is an extensive new cross-sector, cross-discipline, experimental medicine research programme aimed at developing and re-purposing treatments for COVID-19 patients.
ISARIC

Dr Annemarie Docherty and Prof Catherine Sudlow have been awarded a grant from the CSO to support the Scotland wide collection of key data about patients hospitalised with COVD19 as part of the ISARIC project.
Dr Nazir Lone appointed to a national leadership position within NHS National Services Scotland

Chair of the Scottish Intensive Care Society Audit Group
Congratulations to Annemarie Docherty who has been awarded the prestigious Wellcome Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship.

This is a four year fully funded fellowship at consultant level which will enable her to address the problems of heterogeneity in critical care trial design.
Acute Care Edinburgh Aims to Deliver World Class Clinical Research

Acute Care Edinburgh (ACE) is a new cross cutting initiative that will be hosted in the Usher Institute, within the Centre for Population Health Sciences.
SCARF Supporting Community Recovery and Reducing Readmission Risk Following Critical Illness

The project James and Eddie will launch, along with a wide range of partners, aims to collaborate with and build on the work of the award-winning NHS Lothian Patient Experience and Anticipatory Care Plan Team (PACT) which reduced unplanned hospital admissions by over 30% for the high risk cohort of patients.
Dr Annemarie Docherty, Protecting patients with cardiovascular disease in intensive care

Academy of Medical Sciences post-doctoral plenary session.