Rapid response team calls to obstetric patients in a busy quaternary maternity hospital.

Aims: There is limited published information regarding intensive care unit (ICU) led rapid response team (RRT) calls to obstetric patients. We examined the characteristics of RRT calls to obstetric patients at a tertiary teaching hospital.

Methods: Details of calls to pregnant and postpartum patients between October 2010 and June 2014 were obtained from the hospital RRT database.

Targeted therapeutic mild hypercapnia after cardiac arrest: A phase II multi-centre randomised controlled trial (the CCC trial).

Background: In intensive care observational studies, hypercapnia after cardiac arrest (CA) is independently associated with improved neurological outcome. However, the safety and feasibility of delivering targeted therapeutic mild hypercapnia (TTMH) for such patients is untested.

Methods: In a phase II safety and feasibility multi-centre, randomised controlled trial, we allocated ICU patients after CA to 24h of targeted normocapnia (TN) (PaCO2 35-45mmHg) or TTMH (PaCO2 50-55mmHg).

Co-enrollment of critically ill patients into multiple studies: patterns, predictors and consequences.

Introduction: Research on co-enrollment practices and their impact are limited in the ICU setting. The objectives of this study were: 1) to describe patterns and predictors of co-enrollment of patients in a thromboprophylaxis trial, and 2) to examine the consequences of co-enrollment on clinical and trial outcomes.

Methods: In an observational analysis of an international thromboprophylaxis trial in 67 ICUs, we examined the co-enrollment of critically ill medical-surgical patients into more than one study, and examined the clinical and trial outcomes among co-enrolled and non-co-enrolled patients.

Rates and determinants of informed consent: a case study of an international thromboprophylaxis trial.

Background: Successful completion of randomized trials depends upon efficiently and ethically screening patients and obtaining informed consent. Awareness of modifiable barriers to obtaining consent may inform ongoing and future trials.

Objective: The objective of this study is to describe and examine determinants of consent rates in an international heparin thromboprophylaxis trial (Prophylaxis for ThromboEmbolism in Critical Care Trial, clinicaltrials.