Lakeridge Health has been awarded a $543,150 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant to expand its BLUSH study into a multi-centre clinical trial across Ontario hospitals this fall. The grant, ranked among the top 10 percent of applications nationwide, will support research into whether an existing medication can improve recovery for patients with septic shock.
Septic shock is a life-threatening condition caused by severe infection, with mortality rates of 20 to 40 percent or higher despite current treatments. The BLUSH study, led by Critical Care physicians Dr. Shannon Fernando and Dr. Karim Soliman, will evaluate whether adding methylene blue, a medication that may help restore dangerously low blood pressure, can give critically ill patients a better chance of recovery.
“Early work on the project by Dr. Fernando was funded through Lakeridge Health’s Research and Education Fund,” according to Lakeridge Health. Grants are awarded by the Research and Education Council to eligible applicants, drawing on the Research and Education funds of the Ajax Pickering Hospital Foundation and Lakeridge Health Foundation.
The study is supported by the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group (CCCTG), a national partnership created in 1989 to improve care of critically ill patients through investigator-initiated research. The grant is administered through Queen’s University.
If successful, the findings could change how septic shock is treated in hospitals coast to coast, offering new hope for patients facing one of the most serious conditions treated in intensive care.
