HTA-funded research publishes in the NEJM

News release from the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment

11 July 2008

A major clinical trial has published its findings in the internationally renowned New England Journal of Medicine on the 10 July 2008. The £1.1 million study, commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme, compared two different methods of non-invasive ventilation for patients with severe acute cardiogenic pulmonary oedema, with standard oxygen therapy.

Severe acute cardiogenic pulmonary oedema is a common reason for admission to acute care hospital beds. Previous research has shown that non-invasive ventilation may be effective in the immediate treatment of patients and reduce mortality although evidence is limited.

Researchers, led by Dr Alasdair Gray, Consultant in Emergency Medicine at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, recruited over 1000 patients to investigate the clinical, cost-effectiveness, and safety of non-invasive ventilation against standard therapy to determine whether it could help reduce mortality. They found that it is safe and may provide earlier improvement and resolution of breathlessness, respiratory distress and metabolic abnormality than standard oxygen therapy. However it did not improve mortality or rates of intubation any more than standard oxygen therapy.

“From these results we suggest that non-invasive ventilation should be considered as adjunctive therapy in patients with severe acute cardiogenic pulmonary oedema in the presence of severe respiratory distress, or when there is a failure to improve with pharmacological therapy,” says Dr Gray.

Professor Sally Davies, Director General of R&D at the Department of Health commented, “We are very pleased that research funded by the NIHR HTA programme has been recognised and published by the NEJM. It is one of the most influential journals in the field and this is a great achievement for the research team.”

To view the project details visit www.hta.ac.uk/1338 and to view the NEJM article visit http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/359/2/142

Notes for editors


  1. The HTA programme is a programme of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and produces high quality research information about the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. It is the largest of the NIHR programmes and publishes the results of its research in the Health Technology Assessment journal, with more than 400 issues published to date. The journal’s 2007 Impact Factor (3.87) ranked it in the top 10 per cent of medical and health-related journals. All issues are available for download free of charge from the website, www.hta.ac.uk The HTA programme is coordinated by the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA), based at the University of Southampton.
  2. The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility.  The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training.  Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk

Contact details

Naomi Stockley, Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 646, Email: ns5@soton.ac.uk

Helen Nikandrou, Assistant Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 584, Email: h.nikandrou@soton.ac.uk

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