Belfast Research Team lead on Recruitment for Pan-European NEUROCOUGH Trial

February 26, 2024

Pictured (L-R): Ms Abitha Nair, Ms Esther Ramsey and Ms Fionnuala White

The NI Clinical Research Network Respiratory Team at the Belfast City Hospital are leading the way for the international trial NEUROCOUGH: New Understanding in the Treatment of COUGH. The team smashed their original target of 100 patients recruited and went on to recruit 150 patients in Belfast.

NEUROCOUGH is a Clinical Research Consortium of a pan-European multi-centre network that aims to improve the management of chronic cough.  Chronic cough is a common and troublesome clinical problem without any specific treatments.  This unique platform brings together doctors, patients, researchers, and industrial partners, from across Europe and beyond, to exchange ideas and facilitate collaborations geared towards improved care and treatment for patients with cough. Belfast are the leading site amongst 6 UK Sites and 7 international sites across Europe.

The trial is led internationally by NI based Chief Investigator, Professor Lorcan McGarvey. Professor McGarvey works across Belfast Health and Social Care and Queens University Belfast, as a Consultant Respiratory Physician and Professor of Respiratory Medicine respectively. He is internationally known for his research in cough and has a sustained track record of leadership in cough guideline development as Co-Chair of the British Thoracic Society (BTS) Cough Taskforce and currently serves on the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Cough Task Force and as an Expert Member on the American College Chest Physicians (ACCP) Cough Guideline Committee.

Recent recruitment in Belfast has been a focus for clinical research nurses Ms Abitha Nair and Ms Esther Ramsey who thanked their colleagues Ms Alex Usher-Rae and Ms Jade McGuinness as well as the wider Respiratory team. Belfast has consistently led recruitment, despite competitive recruitment from much larger sites.

Find out more about the Neurocough trial here: https://europeanlung.org/neurocough/

If you’d like to know more about taking part in Belfast, get in touch here: NICRNGeneralQuery@nicrn.hscni.net