Shock patients: better, faster teamwork to find the cause
Official title: Shock Patients: Interprofessional Communication to Enhance Diagnosis (SPICED)
Funded at Northwestern University · NIH-11414761 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A team of clinicians works together to quickly identify the exact cause of a patient’s shock to guide the right treatment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northwestern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $499,999 |
| NIH project number | 5R18HS029483-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11414761 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Hospitals and clinicians treating adults with acute shock in intensive care or emergency settings.
✕Less likely to help
If a hospital does not adopt the new process or the patient does not experience a shock, direct benefits may be limited.
What this research studies
This project focuses on improving how interprofessional clinicians—like nurses, pharmacists, emergency and critical care doctors—communicate when a patient is in shock. Researchers will study why clinicians disagree about the cause of shock and create a step-by-step process for sharing assessments and building a shared understanding. Then the new communication method will be tried in clinical care to see if it leads to clearer diagnoses and safer treatment. The goal is to reduce harm from delays or misdiagnoses in critical care by making teamwork more effective.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients with shock could receive more accurate diagnoses and faster, better-targeted treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work has shown communication improvements can reduce errors, but this project tests a specific interprofessional process for identifying shock causes.
Where this research is happening
-
Northwestern University
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Stey, Anne M — Northwestern University
- Study coordinator: Stey, Anne M
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Pragmatic midodrine trial to reduce ICU vasopressor use in septic shock
A practical, patient-focused trial tests whether taking oral midodrine can lessen the need for IV vasopressors and shorten ICU stays for people with sepsis-related low blood pressure.
-
Understanding how small heat shock proteins protect our cells
A study from the University of Washington explores how tiny chaperone proteins protect eye and other cells from damage, which could help prevent conditions like cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
-
A new approach to freeing HIV from brain cells and reducing brain inflammation
A patient-focused approach tests a strategy to flush out hidden HIV in the brain and protect brain health by reducing inflammation.
-
Multi-scale model to improve REBOA use in hemorrhagic shock
A researcher team is building a computer model to better predict how to use REBOA, a device that can control bleeding in the torso, so patients with severe trauma may survive.
-
Phospholipid nanoparticle fluid to replace blood volume and protect organs in severe bleeding
A new, bubble-free fluid made of tiny lipid particles is being developed to quickly restore blood volume and protect organs during severe bleeding when real blood isn’t available.
-
Predicting Risk and Treatment Effects in Cardiogenic Shock after Heart Attack
This grant backs a patient-focused effort to use modern methods to understand how to best use life-saving devices in people who have a heart attack with severe heart pump failure.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.