Lakeridge Health in Oshawa awarded $543,150 CIHR grant for Ontario septic shock trial

Lakeridge Health in Oshawa says it has received a $543,150 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant to fund the next phase of a study testing methylene blue as an additional treatment for septic shock. The hospital announced the grant on Aug. 14, and said the study will expand into a multi-centre clinical trial involving hospitals across Ontario this fall.

Septic shock is a life-threatening condition caused by a severe infection and is treated in intensive care units. Lakeridge Health said the Ontario-wide trial is expected to include multiple hospital sites, meaning patients in different communities could be enrolled as the research expands.

The study is known as BLUSH, short for “Adjunctive Methylene Blue in Septic Shock.” Lakeridge Health said researchers will evaluate whether methylene blue, an existing medication, can help raise blood pressure in septic shock.

Lakeridge Health said the Ontario trial is supported by the Canadian Critical Care Trial Group and may later add sites across Canada.

According to the hospital, the expanded trial builds on a pilot study developed at Lakeridge Health by critical care physicians Dr. Shannon Fernando and Dr. Karim Soliman.

In a statement included in the release, Fernando, the study’s lead researcher, said the CIHR grant supports the next phase of the research and “the opportunity to generate evidence that could improve care for critically ill patients across Canada.” Soliman, the study’s co-lead, said the team is preparing to launch the next phase of the study.

Lakeridge Health also said early work on the project was funded through its Research and Education Fund, which draws from the Ajax Pickering Hospital Foundation and the Lakeridge Health Foundation. The hospital said its chief of staff, Dr. Randy Wax, is a co-investigator on the grant.