Leonie Weisbrodt
RN, MN UTS BN ECU GCertICU NSWCN
Lecturer (Acute Care/Critical Care)
Leonie is a Critical Care nurse with 24 years experience in the clinical area. During the last 10 years her primary role has been as research coordinator, then Clinical Nurse Consultant for Research in the Nepean Hospital Intensive Care Unit. During this time Leonie has been involved with the design and conduct of a broad range of research projects from industry-sponsored clinical drug trials, investigator-initiated international collaborative projects, in-house projects and nurses led research in the areas of sedation management, recovery from illness.
Leonie is also passionate about promoting and supporting and conducting research concerned with the comfort and safety of critically ill adults. She is engaged in a program of research endorsed by the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Societies Clinical Trials Group (ANZIC CTG) describing Australian and New Zealand practices around comfort and safety, including assessment and management of pain, anxiety and delirium. The goal of this program of research is to test strategies targetted at reducing the incidence of delirium during ICU and improving patient outcomes, including long-term psychological recovery. Placing the critical care nurses role within this context is a particular area of interest in this multi-disciplinary area.
Leonie is the Vice President of the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses NSW Branch Management Committee and is a member of Research Coordinator Special Interest Group of the ANZICs CTG. Leonie was awarded a Master of Nursing (Honours) in 2008 (A pilot study of the impact of a routine daily interruption to continuous sedation in mechanically ventilated patients on duration of mechanical ventilation) from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Current research projects
SPICE study – Sedation Practices in ICU: Internation Multicentre Longtitudinal Cohort Study – Investigators A/Professor Yahya Shehabi
Professor Rinaldo Bellomo, Professor John Myburgh, A/Professor Michael Reade, Dr Ian Seppelt, A/Professor Steve Webb, Frances Bass, Leonie Weisbrodt
SPICE Follow-up study: Investigation of patient recall of the ICU experience and impact on psychological recovery. Investigators: Brigit Roberts and Leonie Weisbrodt
Publications
Posters
Galt P, Vallance S, Weisbrodt, L, Vuat J, Caf T, O'Bree B et al. Prospective Informed Consent Substudy: PROTECT in Australia. Poster ANZICS/ACCCN ASM Perth 2009.
Carpen H, Weisbrodt L & McCartan V. SAFEPLOT Project: Development of a quality assurance checklist tool. Poster ANZICS/ACCCN ASM Sydney 2008.
Weisbrodt L, Zucak C & Sturgess B. Contamination rates of enteral feeding systems. Poster ANZICS/ACCCN ASM Cairns 2003.
Articles in peer reviewed journals
2009
The ANZIC Influenza Investigators (2009). Critical Care Services and 2009 H1N1 Influenza in Australia and New Zealand. New England Journal of Medicine, 10.1056/nejmoa0908481. (Cited as site Investigator)
The Nice-Sugar Study Investigators, Finfer S, Chittock DR, Su SY, Blair D, Foster D et al. (2009). Intensive versus conventional glucose control in critically ill patients. New England Journal of Medicine, 360(13), 1283-1297. (Cited as site Investigator)
The RENAL Replacement Therapy Trial Investigators (2009). Screening and Study Enrolment in the Randomized Evaluation of Normal vs. Augmented Level (RENAL) Replacement Therapy Trial. Blood Purification, 27, 199-205. (Cited as site Investigator)
2008
The RENAL study Investigators (2008). Renal replacement therapy for acute kidney injury in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units: a practice survey. Critical Care and Resuscitation, 10(3). (Cited as site Investigator)
The RENAL Study Investigators, Bellomo R, Cass A, Cole L, Finfer S, Gallagher M et al (2008). Design and challenges of the Randomized Evaluation of Normal versus Augmented Level Replacement Therapy (RENAL) Trial: high-dose versus standard-dose hemofiltration in acute renal failure. Blood Purification, 26(5), 407-416. (Cited as site Investigator)
2006
The SAFE study Investigators, Finfer S, Bellomo R, McEvoy S, Lo SK, Myburgh J et al. (2006). Effect of baseline serum albumin concentration on outcome of resuscitation with albumin or saline in patients in intensive care units: analysis of data from the saline versus albumin fluid evaluation (SAFE) study. BMJ, 333(7577), 1044. (Cited as site Investigator)
2004
The SAFE study investigators (2004). A Comparison of Albumin and Saline for fluid Resuscitation in the Intensive Care Unit. The New England Journal of Medicine, 350, 2247-2256. (Cited as site Investigator)
Conference Papers
2010
Invited speaker, ANZICS NZ – Why ICUs different, Hawkes Bay. Patient comfort and safety, assessment and management: Putting the pieces together.
Invited speaker, ANZICS NZ – Why ICUs different, Hawkes Bay. Sedation by clinicians in Australasian ICUs.
Invited speaker, ANZICS NZ – Why ICUs different. Why protocolised care doesn’t work in my ICU.
2009
Invited speaker, Clinical research for nurses and health professionals. Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sydney. Case study, Clinical trials in Acute Care – the AROUSE study.
2008
Invited speaker, Asia Pacific Critical Care Congress on Intensive Care, Sydney. Reality of attempting controlled trials on sedation practice.
Speaker, nursing scholarship session; Asia Pacific Critical Care Congress on Intensive Care, Sydney. Results of the AROUSE study: exploring daily sedation interruption in Australian Intensive Care Units – An ANZICs CTG endorsed study.
Invited speaker, Nursing symposium on Intensive Care, St George hospital. “Sedation in ICU: Are there better ways of doing things?”
2005–2008
Speaker, Annual meeting of the ANZICS Clinical Trials Group, Noosa. Presentation of study protocol and annual updates for a double Blind RCT examining the impact of a daily interruption to sedation on length of mechanical ventilation and long term psychological outcomes in the Australian and New Zealand setting.
2007
Invited speaker, Sedation-Agitation advisory board meeting, Sydney. Review of the current evidence surrounding management of patient sedation and psychological outcome from ICU.
2006
Speaker Nepean hospital annual scientific day: Study protocol for a double Blind RCT examining the impact of a daily interruption to sedation on length of mechanical ventilation and long term psychological outcomes in the Australian and New Zealand setting.
2001–2009
Regular presentations on the status of the various multi-centre trials at Nepean ICU research meetings and ward meetings.
Awards
2003 Best Nursing Poster
Conference: The Annual Australian and New Zealand Annual Scientific Meeting on Intensive Care
Poster: Impact of handling on the contamination rates of enteral feeding systems
Investigators: L Weisbrodt, C Zucak, B Sturgess
Value: $1500
Grants and scholarships
2006 Australian College of Critical Care Nurses
Project title: A ROUtine daily interruption to SEdation
Value: $10,000 awarded
Investigators: L Weisbrodt, S McKinley, A Marshall, I Seppelt, L Cole
2005 Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Foundation
Project title: A ROUtine daily interruption to SEdation
Value: $25,000 awarded
Investigators: L Weisbrodt, S McKinley, A Marshall, I Seppelt, L Cole
Areas of teaching
- Acute Care/Critical Care Nursing
- Managing clinical trials
Recent professional activities
2007–Present
Member SWAHS Human Research and Ethics Committee – Nepean Campus
2008–Present
Expert Reviewer, SWAHS Scientific Advisory board of HREC, Nepean Campus
2009
Grant Reviewer – Intensive Care Foundation research grants
Vice President, NSW Branch Committee, Australian College of Critical Care Nurses
2007–2008
Member, Organising Committee, Asia Pacific Annual Scientific Meeting on Intensive Care
Member, Scientific Committee, Asia Pacific Annual Scientific Meeting on Intensive Care
Other research experience
2010 SPICE: Sedation practices in intensive care. Longtitudinal, observation cohort study
Role: Member of study management committee
2009 EPO: Erythropoietin in recovery from moderate to severe traumatic brain injury – RCT
Role: Co-investigator
2009 SOLACE: Sodium Lactate solution by infusion in acute, decompensated heart failure – RCT
Role: Co-investigator
2009 ART 123: Thrombomodulin in septic patients with DIC – RCT
Role: Site Coordinator
2008 SAFEPLOT: The use of a pneumonic in improving written and oral communication in the ICU
Role: Co-investigator
2007 AROUSE: A routine daily interruption to sedation – RCT
Role: Principal Investigator
2007 REHAB: Testing of a home-based rehabilitation program for survivors of a critical illness – RCT: Site Coordinator
2007 EARLY PN: Early Parenteral Nutrition v. Delayed enteral nutrition in ICU patients – RCT
Role: Site Coordinator
2007 PROTECT: Dalteparin v. Sodium heparin-incidence of DVT in ICU patients – RCT
Role: Site Coordinator
2007 RENAL: Dose effect of continuous renal replacement therapy – RCT
Role: Co-investigator
2007 CAPTIVATE: Tissue factor pathway inhibitor in community acquired pneumonia – RCT
Role: Site Coordinator
2007 NICE: Normoglycaemia in ICU – RCT
Role: Co-investigator
2006 VALID: Surfactant in adults with primary lung injury – RCT
Role: Site Coordinator
2005 BNP in Sepsis: Marker of cardiac dysfunction
Role: Study Coordinator
2004 LICI: Levosimendan v. Dobutamine in low cardiac output states – RCT
Role: Study Coordinator
2004 Estimated body weight in the ICU: Is it good enough
Role: Co-Investigator
2003 DECRA: Decompressive craniectomy in traumatic brain injury – RCT
Role: Site Coordinator
2003 VANISSH: Vasopressin in septic shock – RCT
Role: Site Coordinator
2003 ADDRESS: Drotrecogin alpha (activated) in severe sepsis – RCT
Role: Site Coordinator
2003 ENTERAL: Reducing the contamination rates of enteral feeding systems
Role: Principal Investigator
2002 SAFE: 4% Albumin v. Normal Saline fluid resuscitation – RCT
Role: Co-investigator
2001 STRIVE: Sivelestat in acute lung injury – RCT
Role: Site Coordinator