RECOVERY-RS trial finds continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) reduces need for invasive ventilation in hospitalised COVID-19 patients | NIHR (link)

The DMC for RECOVERY-RS met at the end of January. They noted the considerable progress that had been made since the last DMC meeting, with over 1000 participants now enrolled, making the trial the world’s largest trial of non-invasive ventilation in acute respiratory failure. After careful consideration of the available data, the committee recommended that recruitment continues. A further review will be considered in 4 weeks time. The committee requested that we prioritise obtaining the outcome data for those enrolled to date. We plan to work with NHS Digital, ICNARC and our recruiting sites to obtain as much information as possible to inform the next review.

The investigator team would like to extend their sincere thanks to the patients, families, clinicians and research teams who have supported the trial to date. We plan to provide a further update following the next interim analysis.

RECOVERY-RS team.

Congratulations to our co-investigator Dr Bronwen Connolly on your promotion to Director of Research at the Intensive Care Society. Bronwen's help and support throughout RECOVERY-RS has been invaluable. Very well deserved.

Bronwen is a Senior Lecturer in Critical Care at Queen's University of Belfast and honorary Consultant Clinical Research Physiotherapist at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

“We just don’t know” Richard Innes, Consultant in Intensive Care at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Clinical Research Speciality Lead for Critical Care, says when describing the context for the RECOVERY-RS Study. The study looks to shed light on the most suitable form of ventilation to use when treating the patients worst affected by COVID-19.

Read more here: https://local.nihr.ac.uk/news/recovery-rs-addressing-clinical-equipoise-in-research/26414

Listen to one of our Chief Investigators Professor Gavin Perkins on BBC Radio 4 Inside Health explain why RECOVERY-RS is needed to identify effective respiratory support treatments for COVID-19 patients. Gavin highlights there is uncertainty regarding which method of non-invasive ventilation will benefit patients and whether this might help to avoid intubation. As winter approaches with cases rising it is important to not enter in to a false sense of security and important urgent public health trials must continue to be delivered to provide us with the answers needed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000nl8m

An article was recently published in The Times emphasising the need for RECOVERY-RS to resolve doubts around the best respiratory support to provide to COVID-19 patients. Clinical equipoise at sites to essential to provide us with the answers we need.

RECOVERY-RS is the only large trial investigating whether intervening with CPAP and delivering oxygen under pressure into the nose really do speed recovery times and reduce the need for people to be intubated.

Read more here: bit.ly/36MYYBC