
Respiratory Trainee Research Collaborative
@resptract
OUR WORK
Projects
NIV Study Day

In 2019 we piloted a deanery wide General Internal Medicine NIV study day. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback and this model of a successful trainee led training day was presented at the British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting 2019. We plan to work with the West Midlands Deanery to incorporate it as a regular training day in the future
Future Projects
E-Cigarette Usage Survey
Asthma Exacerbation
Do you have an idea?
Please submit a proposal form
Please note at the moment we can only accept proposals from within the West Midlands
Utility of severity assessment tools in COVID-19 pneumonia: a multicentre observational study
In spring 2020 RespTRACT undertook an observational multi-centre study of to examine use of commonly used severity scores in COVID-19 infection. Through the collaborative we rapidly established data collection across eight sites involving more than thirty trainees.
COVID-19 often causes severe disease with high mortality, yet there are limited treatment options. COVID-19 infection can be heterogenous, the ability to risk stratify will inform patient care and clinical trial stratification. We aimed to establish whether commonly used risk stratification tools aid in predicting adverse outcomes in COVID-19 infection?
We enrolled 2387 patients across the West Midlands and demonstrated that established severity scores for pneumonia and sepsis do not accurately predict risk of death or admission to ICU in COVID-19 infection. Clinicians should be wary of using non validated tools to inform clinical decisions in COVID-19. Further validation and use of COVID-19 specific risk stratification tools is urgently warranted.
ABOUT US
RespTRACT is a trainee led research collaborative founded in 2018. We aim to improve the care of patients and quality of respiratory research through gathering data from multiple sites across the West Midlands Deanery.
The Committee
President
Dr Frances Gruzdinska
Frances is a respiratory registrar and is currently working towards a PhD looking at the way pneumonia affects neutrophils in an ageing population. She is also involved with teaching and is a member of the British Thoracic Society Education Steering Committee.
Secretary
Dr Shaun Thein
Shaun is a respiratory registrar and a lecturer at the University of Oxford. He is also involved with the pastoral care of medical students and junior doctors in Birmingham.
Treasurer
Dr Saleem Chaudhri
Saleem is a respiratory registrar in Stoke after completing a Cystic Fibrosis Fellowship year at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital.
Allied Healthcare Representative
Mr Ross Edgar
Ross is a senior respiratory physiotherapist and clinical research fellow in Birmingham as well as the NIHR AHP West Midlands Research Champion. He is currently working towards his PhD in AATD and works to support non-medical aspiring clinical academics.
Research Lead
Dr Seb Lugg
Seb is a respiratory registrar and a clinical lecturer in Birmingham. He is currently working towards his PhD looking at macrophage function in lung cancer. He has also been heavily involved in Project Murray - aiming to reduce smoking.
Respiratory Consultant (Clinical)
Dr Davinder Dosanjh
Davinder is a respiratory and general internal medicine physician at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. He is also the Royal College of Physicians Tutor and has previously done research into tuberculosis as the subject of his PhD
Respiratory Consultant (Academic)
Dr Dhruv Parekh
Dhruv is a respiratory, general internal medicine and critical care physician at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham; and a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Birmingham. He has a research background in vitamin D and is currently the principal investigator for the UK arm of the VITDALIZE trial.
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