Department of Cardiovascular Sciences

National Cardiac Surgery Clinical Trials Initiative

HRUK logoIn 2019, James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership in Adult Cardiac Surgery identified the Top 10 research priorities for patients, carers and clinicians.

Our next step is to translate these research priorities into a programme of clinical trials that address the most important research questions.

This process will be taken forward, by Individual Clinical Study Groups (CSG) led by interdisciplinary teams composed of members of the public, health services researchers and clinicians.

Over the course of the last 5 years, the National Cardiac Surgery Clinical Trials Programme has brought together a portfolio of 5 HTA funded Randomised Controlled Trials, 4 International CIHR/NIHR funded Randomised Controlled Trials and 2 NIHR PGfAR and to ensure these all come to fruition, the projects are being overseen by our Executive and Stakeholder Committees and National PPI group members.

2024 Vision and Beyond

To ensure that the National Cardiac Surgery Trials Initiative recruits a cohort of participants that reflect the diversity and geographical distribution of the UK population, this project will place emphasis on techniques to improve recruitment in under-served groups.

Objectives

  • The management of the research trials will be coordinated by regular operational, strategy and joint learning meetings and workshops.
  • Researchers from Bristol will undertake a study to understand the challenges we face rolling out this large number of trials across the UK, and develop strategies to overcome these.
  • Researchers from Leicester will develop ways to improve the numbers of people from under-served communities to the trials, and develop a checklist that can be applied to all cardiovascular research studies.

Groups

National Stakeholders Group

  • Strategy, co-leadership, cohesion, communication, advocacy, dissemination of shared solutions to common problems and providing a voice for external stakeholders

CTU Knowledge Sharing Group

  • Joint learning/problem sharing for all the participating Clinical Trial Units, to facilitate and coordinate the sharing of experience and knowledge of developing and delivering these trials.

Ongoing Clinical Study Groups

  • Development of new research proposals, underpinned by robust and comprehensive input from patient and public involvement and engagement.

CSG1 - Long term outcomes and quality of life

  • Clinicians: Mahmoud Loubani and Iain Squire
  • Patient and Public Representatives: Sarah Murray, Paul Haywood, Phil Collis, Gil Wheeler and Jeremy Dearling
  • See more about our long term outcomes and quality of life.

CSG2 - Prehabilitation

  • Clinicians: Ben Gibbison and John Cleland
  • Health Services Researchers: Maria Pufulete  
  • Patient and Public Representatives: Phil Collis and Phil Blakelock
  • See more about prehabilitation.

CSG4 - Minimally invasive and heart valve surgery

  • Clinicians: Enoch Akowuah  
  • Co-Lead: Wil Woan
  • Health Services Researchers: Rebecca Maier
  • Patient and Public Representatives: Phil Blakelock and Alan Keys 
  • See more about minimally invasive and heart valve surgery.

CSG5 - Organ protection

  • Clinicians: Andrew Klein and Gudrun Kunst
  • Patient and Public Representatives: Irene Leeman, Judith Bower and Mark Lewis
  • See more about organ protection.

CSG6 - Atrial fibrillation

  • Clinicians: Ben Gibbison
  • Health Services Researchers: Maria Pufulete
  • Patient and Public Representative: Gil Wheeler, Phil Blakelock and Anthony Locke
  • See more about atrial fibrillation.

CSG7 - Infection prevention

  • Clinicians: Melissa Rochon, Luke Rogers and Ricky Vaja
  • Health Services Researchers: Judith Tanner, Shaun Barber and Cassandra Brookes
  • Patient and Public Representative: Jeremy Dearling and Keith Wilson
  • See more about infection prevention.

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