About

The Pragmatic Critical Care Research Group (PCCRG) is a network of emergency medicine, anesthesiology, and critical care clinicians and researchers at more than 25 hospitals across the United States that embeds pragmatic trials within clinical care to improve outcomes for acutely ill patients.

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PCCRG is a multidisciplinary group of clinicians and researchers at more than 25 hospitals across the United States that collaborates with patients, families, and health systems to conduct pragmatic trials embedded within clinical care.

Our Aim

PCCRG aims to improve care for acutely ill patients by using pragmatic trials embedded within clinical care to determine which common treatments produce the best patient outcomes.

Our History

The Pragmatic Critical Care Research Group (PCCRG) was founded in 2013 at Vanderbilt Health to improve care for critically ill patients by using clinical trials to compare commonly used treatments. Our clinical trials network has grown to more than 100 providers across more than 25 health systems.

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PCCRG Leadership

Matthew W. Semler, MD, MSc –
Co-Director, PCCRG
Vanderbilt Health
Jonathan D. Casey, MD, MSc –
Co-Director, PCCRG
Vanderbilt Health
Ariel Lewis, MPH, BSN, RN,“Project Management Lead, PCCRG”.
Ariel Lewis, MPH, BSN, RN –
Project Management Lead, PCCRG
Vanderbilt Health

Coordinating Center Personnel

PCCRG is supported by a Clinical Coordinating Center and Data Coordinating Center housed within the Center for Learning Healthcare in the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.

Matthew Semler, MD, MSc –
Co-Director, PCCRG
Vanderbilt Health
Jonathan Casey, MD, MSc –
Co-Director, PCCRG
Vanderbilt Health
Stephanie DeMasi, MD, MS
Vanderbilt Health
Kevin Seitz, MD, MSc
Vanderbilt Health
Edward Qian, MD, MD, MSCI
Vanderbilt Health
Ariel Lewis, MPH, BSN, RN,“Project Management Lead, PCCRG”.
Ariel Lewis, MPH, BSN, RN –
Project Management Lead, PCCRG
Vanderbilt Health
Grace Van Winkle, MPH
Vanderbilt Health
Katie Whitaker, MS
Vanderbilt Health
Sydney Lagalante, MPH
Vanderbilt Health
Kylie Nairon, PhD
Vanderbilt Health
Michele Nguyen, MSPH
Vanderbilt Health
   Brad Lloyd, RRT-ACCS
Vanderbilt Health
Margaret Hays, MSN, RN
Vanderbilt Health
Tiffany Israel, MSSW
Vanderbilt Health
Whitney Gannon, MSN, ACNP-BC
Vanderbilt Health
Matthew Shotwell, PhD
Vanderbilt Health
Li Wang, MS
Vanderbilt Health
Brant Imhoff, MS
Vanderbilt Health
Cathy Shyr, PhD
Vanderbilt Health
LaKeysha Wiggins
Vanderbilt Health
Tracy Morgan, RRT
Vanderbilt Health
 Todd Rice, MD, MSc
Vanderbilt Health
Wesley Self, MD, MPH
Vanderbilt Health

Our Network

Our network has completed more than 20 randomized trials enrolling more than 50,000 patients. Results of these trials, including 8 published in the New England Journal of Medicine or JAMA, identified common, inexpensive treatments that improve patient outcomes (e.g., use of balanced crystalloids rather than saline, video laryngoscopy and bag-mask ventilation during emergency tracheal intubation).