American College of Radiology Selected as Imaging Partner for VIRUS COVID-19 Registry

The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) Center for Research and Innovation™ (CRI) was selected by the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) to serve as the overall imaging repository for the Discovery Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study (VIRUS) COVID-19 Registry. The study aims to create a real time registry of current ICU and hospital care patterns to allow evaluation of safety and observational effectiveness of COVID-19 practices.

In collaboration with SCCM, the ACR CRI will collect all diagnostic images for the VIRUS COVID-19 Registry, create a link between the images and clinical data collected by SCCM, and archive images to make them accessible to participating sites through combined dashboard reporting.

“We are excited to support this effort to enhance the quality, safety and effectiveness of patient care during this public health crisis,” says Etta Pisano, MD, chief research officer of the ACR. “The utilization of both clinical and imaging data is likely to be very important in monitoring and predicting the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly as it affects rural America in the months ahead. The ACR is proud to be of service to the country through this effort. This study also lays the groundwork for future collaborative efforts to harness the power of bringing data together in a federated model, while allowing study participants the autonomy to determine how much data is shared.”

The registry will be essential for near-real time observational comparative effectiveness studies to learn effective treatment strategies and/or provide meaningful hypotheses for clinical trials. A dashboard tracks data on trends such as mechanical ventilation duration, ICU length of stay, ICU discharge details and the type of medical support patients receive, as well as patient demographics: gender, age and race. Underscoring the urgent demand for such a registry, VIRUS hit its first major milestone of 1,000 patients enrolled after being open just three weeks. To date, it has collected data on more than 8,500 patients from 184 healthcare sites.

“The Society of Critical Care Medicine is proud to have the ACR CRI as a partner in the Discovery VIRUS Registry, as both organizations strive to fulfill a shared mission to improve care for patients with COVID-19 and develop strategies for future outbreaks,” said SCCM CEO David Martin, CAE. “We are finding new ways to collaborate, share data and communicate information, moving quickly under unprecedented timelines. These strong partnership are vital to our success.”

Rahul Kashyap, MBBS, MBA of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota serves as principal investigator; along with co-principal investigators Vishakha Kumar, MD, MBA of SCCM and Allen J. Walkey, MD, MSc of Boston University.

For more information about the Discovery VIRUS COVID-19 Registry, visit sccm.org/VIRUS. To arrange an interview with an ACR representative, please contact Meghan Swope at 703-390-9822 or PR@acr.org.

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About the American College of Radiology

The American College of Radiology® (ACR®), founded in 1924, is a professional medical society dedicated to serving patients and society by empowering radiology professionals to advance the practice, science and professions of radiological care.

About the Society of Critical Care Medicine

The Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) is the largest nonprofit medical organization dedicated to promoting excellence and consistency in the practice of critical care. With members in more than 100 countries, SCCM is the only organization that represents all professional components of the critical care team. The Society offers a variety of activities that ensure excellence in patient care, education, research, and advocacy. SCCM’s mission is to secure the highest quality of care for all critically ill and injured patients. Visit sccm.org for more information. Follow @SCCM or visit us on Facebook.