Sheffield team to undertake research into Swine Flu

Researchers at the University of Sheffield will be conducting an urgent project into Swine Flu that will contribute to the Government´s response to the virus in the coming months. Professor Steve Goodacre, from the University of Sheffield´s School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) will lead the study which will look at whether simple measurements of patient´s symptoms can reliably predict whether they have a serious disease and if they need hospital treatment. The research is one of a series of projects which has been fast tracked by The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) on behalf of the Department of Health to provide vital clinical and scientific evidence to the Government. The research, which is being funded by the Department of Health, will involve patients attending the Northern General Hospital and the Sheffield´s Children´s Hospital with suspected Swine Flu. At present, Swine Flu seems to be a mild illness for most people who catch it, but in some cases it can be more severe and hospital treatment is required. Patients attending hospital with possible Swine Flu need to be carefully assessed to identify who has severe illness needing hospital admission, and who can be safely allowed home with appropriate advice. The research will examine simple measurements, such as the patient´s temperature, breathing rate or blood oxygen levels, to find out whether these measures can reliably predict which patients are in need of hospital treatment.