Wolf Creek XVIII Part 6: transforming clinical trial design in cardiac arrest research

Karen G Hirsch; Janet Bray; Clifton W Callaway; Keith Couper; Ian R Drennan; Theresa Olasveengen; Gavin D Perkins; Jonathan Elmer

doi:10.1016/j.resplu.2025.101204

Wolf Creek XVIII Part 6: transforming clinical trial design in cardiac arrest research

Resusc Plus. 2025 Dec 22:29:101204. doi: 10.1016/j.resplu.2025.101204. eCollection 2026 May.

Authors

Karen G Hirsch¹, Janet Bray², Clifton W Callaway³, Keith Couper^{4

5}, Ian R Drennan^{6

7}, Theresa Olasveengen⁸, Gavin D Perkins^{4

5}, Jonathan Elmer⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
² School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Victoria and Curtin School of Nursing, Curtin University, Western Australia, Australia.
³ Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
⁴ Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
⁵ Critical Care Unit, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK.
⁶ Division of Emergency Medicine and Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, Ornge Critical Care Transport, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁷ Department of Emergency Services and Sunnybrook Research Institute, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁸ Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, and Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway.
⁹ Departments of Emergency Medicine, Critical Care Medicine and Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Abstract

The 50th Anniversary Wolf Creek XVIII Conference was hosted by the Max Harry Weil Institute for Critical Care Research and Innovation in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA on June 19-21, 2025. "Transforming Clinical Trial Design in Cardiac Arrest Research" was a topic of focused presentation and discussion. Participants included invited panelists and conference attendees made up of international academic and industry scientists as well as thought leaders in the field of cardiac arrest resuscitation. Panelists identified six key opportunities to transform clinical trial design: (1) Selecting the "right" patient and intervention, (2) Optimizing randomization, (3) Measuring relevant and unbiased outcomes, (4) Designing alternative approaches to "usual" randomize controlled trials (RCTs), (5) Maintaining public trust and engagement, and (6) Changing the approach to knowledge translation from research into clinical practice.

Keywords: Cardiac arrest; Clinical trials; Research.