Grant: Operating Grant

Chronic immune diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), affect more than 5% of Canadians. Critical illness requiring admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) is serious and costly. We do not know much about the inter-relationships between chronic immune diseases and critical illness. The long-term goal of our research program is to identify ways to prevent critical illness in chronic autoimmune diseases including inflammatory bowel disease IBD, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis; mitigate the effects of critical illness on these diseases; or both. In this study we will look at how these chronic illnesses influence the type, severity and outcomes of critical illness. We will also look at how the use of new therapies for IBD, MS and RA affect the risk of critical illness. We will do this by using health claims data, and a database about people who have been admitted to ICUs in Manitoba. The findings from our study will help health care providers to give more accurate information to persons with IBD, MS and RA about their possible outcomes after critical illness. Our findings will also enable us to find out who is most at risk of critical illness.