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Department of Pediatrics Heersink School of Medicine

Critical Care Research

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The Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine is active in basic science, translational science, clinical care and educational research; as well as patient safety and quality improvement. Research interests within the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine include:

    • Improving patient care in the pediatric intensive care unit.

    • Investigating the mechanisms driving blood vessel disease during sepsis.

    • Risk-stratifying patients with acute kidney injury and delivering innovative therapies to improve outcomes.

    • Health disparities in critically ill children.

    • Decreasing mean time of mechanical ventilation for all pediatric intensive care patients.

    • Evaluation of airway management practices from intubation to extubation.

    • Implementation of ventilator liberation guidelines to decrease extubation failure.

    • Laryngeal ultrasound to predict post-extubation upper airway obstruction.

    • Novel applications of point-of-care ultrasound to patient care.

    • Improving the outcome and treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) patients.

    • lnterventional hypothermia trials for pediatric cardiac arrest patients.

    • Improving Quality Care delivery in the PICU.

    • Medical education, enhancing the learning experience of medical students participating in 4th year internship rotations.

    • Fellow and Resident education in the pediatric intensive care unit.

    • Rapid cycle deliberate practice to improve cardiopulmonary arrest.

    • Delineating the role and impact of protease dysregulation in the pathogenesis of Acute Lung Injury and Respiratory Syncytial Virus-induced respiratory failure in children.

    • Critical assessment of the acutely ill non-verbal child.

    • The use simulation to teach the entire spectrum of health care providers.

    • Using simulation to improve preparedness of community health care workers for sick children.

    • Quality CPR and use of simulation.

    • Sedation outside the Operating Room.

    • Risk assessment in pediatric sedation.

    • Fellow and Resident quality improvement and patient safety education.

Participation in Multicenter Collaborations

    • Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators (PALISI)

    • The Strategies to Innovate Emergency Care Clinical Trials Network (SIREN)

    • Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network (CPCCRN)

    • • Educators in Pediatric Intensive Care (EPIC)

    • International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Research, Innovation, & Education {INSPIRE)

    • Virtual PICU Systems, LLC (VPS, LLC)

 

Current Studies and projects that we are involved in include: 

  • ARDS in Children and ECMO initiation strategies impact on Neuro-Development (ASCEND) - (active - enrolling)

  • Catheter-Related Early Thromboprophylaxis with Enoxaparin (CRETE) Studies - (active - enrolling)

  • COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness in Preventing Severe COVID-19-Related Complications in U.S. Children and Adolescents (A Public health Surveillance Activity Conducted for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - (active - enrolling)

  • Heparanase and Endotheliopathy in Pediatric Sepsis (HPSE) - (active - enrolling)

  • lmmunobiology of Influenza Critical Illness in Young People (PICFLU2) - (active - enrolling)

  • Influenza and Other Emerging Respiratory Pathogens Surveillance Registry - (active - enrolling)

  • Inter-Rater Reliability Evaluation of Laryngeal Air Column Width Difference Determined by Laryngeal Ultrasound - (Active & Enrolling)

  • Multicenter Pediatric Ventilation Liberation Quality Improvement (Ventlib4kids) - (Active & Enrolling)

  • Pediatric Influence of Cooling duration on Efficacy in Cardiac Arrest Patients (P-ICECAP) - (Active & Enrolling)

  • Phase Ill Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Azithromycin Treatment for RSV Induced Respiratory Failure in Children Trial (ARRC) - (Active & Enrolling)

  • Post-Intensive Care Syndrome - pediatrics (PICS-p): Longitudinal Cohort Study - (Active & Enrolling)

  • Predicting Difficult Laryngoscopy Using Bedside Sonography in Pediatric Patients - (Active & Enrolling)

  • PRone and oscillation PEdiatric Clinical Trial (PROSpect Trial) - (Active & Enrolling)

  • Understanding Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Overcoming COVID-19) in US Children (Overcoming COVID-19) - (Active & Enrolling)

  • Observation of Multi-center Quality Improvement Project: Improving Safety and Quality of Tracheal Intubation Practice in Pediatric ICUs (Multi-Center NEAR-4-KIDS QI} - (Awaiting Approval)

  • PeRsonalizEd immunomodulation in pediatric sepslS-inducEd MODS (PRECISE) - (Awaiting Approval)

  • Genetic Epidemiology and Immune Response of Life-Threatening Influenza Infection in Children and Young Adults (PICFLU) - (Completed Enrollment & In Data Analysis)

  • Prospective Pilot Clinical Trial of Azithromycin Treatment in RSV-Induced Respiratory Failure - (Completed Enrollment & In Data Analysis)

  • Risk factors for developing multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) after SARS­ CoV-2 infection (A Public health Surveillance Activity Conducted for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - (Completed Enrollment & In Data Analysis)

For questions regarding research, please contact:

Meghan Murdock, RN, BSN
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
Research Nurse Coordinator
205-638-6850
Fax: 205-638-2048
01dmurdock@uabmc.edu

Heather Kelley, RN, BSN
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine 
Research Nurse Coordiniator 
205-638-3343
Fax: 205-638-2048
bkelley@uabmc.edu