In this AVF Podcast: Behind-The-Scenes ICU Stories episode, Professor Kathy Rowan shares her journey starting and growing one of the world’s most successful critical care research networks, the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), and provides candid advice for anyone who may want to follow in her footsteps. Professor Rowan is the Director and founder of ICNARC, Honorary Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and Adjunct Professor (Research) at Monash University, Australia.

Issues discussed in this interview:

• What ICNARC does
• What inspires one to set up a critical care research network
• What hurdles to expect
• How audit, quality improvement, and research go together
• Ingredients needed for a good registry and research network
• How to scale a critical care research network
• The emphasis on humanity, equity, and effectiveness
• How to use data to study COVID-19
• Three final tips for anyone starting out

 
Work cited:

1. Rowan KM, Kerr JH, Major E, McPherson K, Short A, Vessey MP. Intensive Care Society's APACHE II study in Britain and Ireland--I: Variations in case mix of adult admissions to general intensive care units and impact on outcome. BMJ 1993;307:972-7.
2. Harvey SE, Parrott F, Harrison DA, et al. Trial of the route of early nutritional support in critically ill adults. N Engl J Med 2014;371:1673-84.
3. Mouncey PR, Osborn TM, Power GS, et al. Trial of early, goal-directed resuscitation for septic shock. N Engl J Med 2015;372:1301-11.
4. Lamontagne F, Richards-Belle A, Thomas K, et al. Effect of reduced exposure to vasopressors on 90-day mortality in older critically ill patients with vasodilatory hypotension: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA 2020;323:938-49.
5. Ferrando P, Gould DW, Walmsley E, et al. Family satisfaction with critical care in the UK: a multicentre cohort study. BMJ Open 2019;9:e028956.