NICRN CC in top 5 recruiters for MARCH in the UK
May 27, 2025
Congratulations to the NICRN Critical Care Team in the BHSCT who have just completed recruitment to the MARCH Trial. The team finished the trial as the 4th highest recruiter in the UK (out of 71 sites) and the 2nd highest in terms of sample collection. This is amazing news and it is important to recognise this achievement.
The MARCH trial: Mucoactives in Acute, Respiratory Failure: Carbocisteine and Hypertonic Saline is led by Professors Bronwen Connolly and Danny McAuley from Queen’s University Belfast, began recruiting in March 2022, and was led in BHSCT by PI Dr Murali Shysumsundar supported by the critical care and perioperative medicine research team. They recruited 91 patients in total and also worked closely with NICTU to share best practice around recruitment and delivery with other sites.
The aim of the MARCH trial is to help patients in intensive care units who need help to breathe from a breathing machine (ventilator). While on a breathing machine, it is difficult for patients to clear secretions (mucus) from the lungs. Mucoactive medications are sometimes prescribed to clear thick secretions. ‘Carbocisteine’ and ‘Hypertonic saline’ are two mucoactives commonly used in UK ICUs. However, we do not know if these mucoatives help patients with thick secretions. The MARCH study will investigate whether one or both mucoactives clear thick secretions and if their use reduces the time patients spend on ventilators. We will look at patient safety, and any differences in patients’ ICU stay. We will follow patients up for 6 months to know their quality of life and treatment costs to the NHS.
We look forward to receiving the final analysis of this trial and would like to thank the team for all their hard work and progress in the trial.