Oxy-PICU

Patients randomised: 2040
Recruitment target reached!

 

What is this study about?

Of the thousands of seriously ill children referred to intensive care as an emergency in the UK each year, around 75% receive both invasive mechanical ventilation and supplemental oxygen. However, the optimal targets for systemic oxygenation are unknown.  Current practice is generally to administer supplemental oxygen to achieve arterial oxygen saturations that are at, or above, the normal healthy range.

However, observational data suggest harm from too generous use of supplemental oxygen in adults and children. There is no high-quality evidence from randomised controlled trial (RCT) data to support and guide clinicians’ use of oxygen.  Therefore, there is an urgent need for high quality evidence to inform the choice of oxygen saturation targets in the most seriously unwell children.

The Oxy-PICU study therefore aims to determine if the risks of interventions employed on intensive care to raise peripheral oxygen saturation to >94% exceed their benefits when compared to a peripheral oxygen saturation of 88-92%. All objectives evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of a conservative peripheral SpO2 target of 88-92%.

Information for sites

Study documents are available for participating sites here.

FAQs are available for participating sites here.

For any questions, contact the ICNARC Oxy-PICU team on OxyPICU@icnarc.org