Dr. Lisa Burry

Improving recovery after critical illness through better sedation and delirium care

Mechanical ventilation and other invasive life-saving interventions are needed during critical illness but frequently complicated by over-sedation, pain, delirium, and exposure to psychoactive medications that can lead to prolonged ventilation, cognitive impairment, and functional decline. We aim to identify safer, more effective psychoactive medication strategies that balance patient comfort with recovery and liberation from life support in the intensive care unit (ICU). 

Our PEACE-ICU program (Program for Evaluating & improving Agitation-delirium-analgosedation in Critical care Environments) focuses on optimizing analgesia-sedation and delirium management to improve outcomes for critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Through this work, we have contributed important scientific knowledge on interventions to optimize analgesia-sedation, in which pain management is prioritized over sedation, and on the management of agitation and delirium during and after critical illness. The program’s goals focus on improving both short- and long-term patient outcomes during and after ICU.

Using a combination of randomized controlled trials, large population-based studies, systematic reviews and international audits, we evaluate how sedatives, analgesics, and antipsychotics are used in real-world ICU and how these practices influence outcomes, including delirium, mobility, survival and healthcare utilization after hospital discharge. A central focus of our work is reducing potentially avoidable medication harm, particularly among older adults and other complex populations.

Our program is highly collaborative and embedded within national and international research networks, including studies that evolve as new evidence emerges and help guide care delivery. By integrating clinical pharmacology, patient-centred outcomes and implementation science, our work informs bedside practice, clinical guidelines and health policy. Ultimately, we seek to improve the experience of critical illness for patients and families while supporting safer transitions from ICU to recovery.