Emergency Medicine and Trauma Surgery researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are joining Vanderbilt LifeFlight in a Department of Defense (DOD)-funded clinical trial aimed at improving survival with resuscitation techniques used to keep patients alive after a traumatic injury.

Starting on April 4, Vanderbilt providers initiated the “Randomized Trial of Sedative Choice for Intubation” (RSI) study to determine whether ketamine or etomidate is better for preventing low blood pressure, low oxygen levels, serious heart problems, or even death for severely ill patients undergoing intubation.

Vanderbilt research shows that critically ill COVID-19 patients on a mechanical ventilator or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation lived more often when randomized to receive baricitinib.

Two devices for placing a breathing tube during critical illness had similar success rates for intubation on the first attempt, according to a study published Dec. 8 in JAMA.

In a late-stage clinical trial, the biologic agent dupilumab reduced the rate of severe asthma attacks and improved lung function and asthma control for children ages 6 to 11 with moderate-to-severe asthma, offering a new option to these patients.