Critical Care & Trauma

Lead Researchers:

Professor John Myburgh

Most significant advances or findings in past 10yrs

A large-scale study - the SAFE - TBI study - found that the use of a specific intravenous fluid, saline, used for resuscitating patients with severe brain injuries following trauma reduced the death rate and improved the quality of life of patients who survived their brain injury. Saline is readily available and cheap fluid solution and the important results of our study apply equally to high-income countries such as Australia as well as low-income countries where the rates of trauma are substantially higher and associated with worse outcomes.

Most important aspects of current work

We are currently conducting a large-scale study to determine whether controlling blood sugar levels to one of two ranges in critically ill patients improves overall survival. This study will change the way intensive care patients are managed in the future as clinicians become more aware of the need to closely monitor and keep blood sugar levels at normal levels throughout their patient's stay in the Intensive Care Unit. The results of this large study, currently conducted in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA are expected in early 2009.

Recent publications

Finfer S, Bellomo R, Boyce N, French J, Myburgh J. A comparison of albumin and saline for fluid resuscitation in the intensive care unit. N Engl J Med 2004; 350:2,247-56.

Myburgh J, Cooper DJ, Finfer S, Bellomo R, Norton R, Bishop N, Lo SK, Vallance S. Saline or albumin for fluid resuscitation in patients with traumatic brain injury. N Engl J Med 2007; 357:874-84.