The Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF) has partnered with the British Society of Echocardiography (BSE) to produce the first ever BSE National review of Stress Echocardiography Practice (BSE N-STEP).
The programme builds on the CCRF’S EVAREST research programme, which has established a vast hospital network of academic stress echocardiography centres across the UK, generating a database of 8000 patients. The BSE N-STEP was created based on this experience and aims to continue to recruit patients referred for stress echocardiograms across the country. The results will help better understand how protocols are used among different Trusts and the resources involved, as well as the clinical pathway and outcome of patients. Findings from the study should generate important insights into standards of stress echocardiography clinical practice across the NHS.
The BSE N-STEP committee Chair, Dr Dan Augustine, said “This partnership presents a valuable opportunity to review how stress echocardiography is being delivered in real world clinical practice in the UK and allows us to build a national picture of our stress echo use. Information on all forms of stress echo will be captured including assessments for ischaemia, valve disease and viability. From the data it will be possible to analyse protocols; outcomes and cost effectiveness of stress echocardiography within the NHS to promote best practice”. Professor Paul Leeson, Principal Investigator of the EVAREST research programme, commented: ‘We are delighted to be able to bring together the EVAREST Investigators across the country with the British Society of Echocardiography to facilitate this exciting initiative. The project will be the first ever national review of the performance of an advanced echocardiography imaging modality within the NHS.” A joint committee will oversee the project including BSE members Dr Daniel Augustine, Ms Maria Paton, Dr David Oxborough, Mr Shaun Robinson, Mr Keith Pearce and Professor Mark Monaghan alongside Professor Paul Leeson, Dr Elena Benedetto and Ms Cristiana Monteiro, from the University of Oxford.
If your department is interested in taking part on this project, please contact us on [email protected].
Committee members
- Dr Daniel Augustine, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
- Professor Paul Leeson, Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility, University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Dr Jamie O'Driscoll, Canterbury Christ Church University
- Dr David Oxborough, Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science
- Dr Maria Paton, University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Mr Keith Pearce, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
- Mr Shaun Robinson, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
- Dr James Willis, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust