CanROC - Canadian Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium: Toward a National Resuscitation Clinical Research Network

People who suffer when their heart stops in the out-of-hospital setting (cardiac arrest- OHCA) and major trauma have very high rates of injury and death. Effective and rapid interventions are important to improve patient outcomes. Canadian investigators have played a key role in out-of-hospital research for more than 20 years. Most recently, three Canadian universities (UBC, U of T and U of Ottawa) have been successful participants in the joint US/Canadian Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC). The ROC was formed to conduct large, multi-centre clinical trials for out-of-hospital management of OHCA and major trauma. The three Canadian sites have contributed more than 60% of enrolled patients in OHCA trials and 20% in trauma trials. Major ROC accomplishments include multiple publications in prestigious scientific journals and observational analyses based upon a large database, the "ROC Epistry". We plan to create a Canadian version of ROC (CanROC) that is more national in scope providing ways to monitor the quality of the care provided by participating systems and to measure the burden on public health for OHCA and major trauma in adults and children. It will stand alone to perform studies in OHCA and major trauma. We will eventually include all provinces and territories in Canada. We also plan to collaborate with other Canadian research partners/networks, US-ROC and other international partners. Our vision includes ensuring multiple disciplines of care givers are involved including our patients and we devote resources and time to building a national training strategy. Through this exciting initiative we will improve the capacity, competitiveness and impact of clinical research for OHCA and major trauma conducted in Canada. However, this contribution to science depends upon new funding models. Support from the ICRH for the Canadian ROC sites will help to build a truly national alliance of investigators and stakeholders dedicated to OHCA and major trauma.