Dr Bharath Kumar

Bharath Kumar is an intensive care doctor and researcher with a broad focus on improving outcomes from critical illness for patients in LMICs.

Dr Bharath Kumar Tirupakuzhi Vijayaraghavan

Clinical Research Fellow

Contact details

Background

Dr Bharath Kumar completed his medical school from Bangalore, India and his residency in Anaesthesiology from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. He went on to train in critical care medicine from the National University Hospital, Singapore and subsequently at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Canada. Bharath additionally holds a MSc. in Clinical Trials from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Bharath currently works as a Consultant in the Department of Critical Care Medicine at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai for 0.5FTE. He has also previously served as Consultant to the Health Emergencies Division of the World Health Organization.

Research Overview

Bharath leads the Indian Registry of IntenSive care (IRIS), a cloud-based registry of ICUs in India focused on evaluating case-mix and outcomes from critical illness. Bharath was instrumental in establishing the registry and oversaw its evolution as a tool for quality improvement and epidemiological research for critically ill patients in India. He is also a trialist with a focus on investigator-initiated clinical trials that evaluate interventions for a diverse population of ICU patients.

Funding

  • Bharath Kumar holds a Global ICU award from the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine for an epidemiological study of severe dengue in LMICs
  • Bharath Kumar is funded for 0.5 FTE by a Wellcome Trust grant for work related to IRIS.

Select Publications

  1. Bharath Kumar Tirupakuzhi Vijayaraghavan, Vivekanand Jha, Dorrilyn Rajbhandari, Sheila Nainan Myatra, Arpita Ghosh, Amritendu Bhattacharya et al. Hydroxychloroquine plus personal protective equipment versus personal protective equipment alone for the prevention of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infections among healthcare workers: a multicentre, parallel-group randomised controlled trial from India. BMJ Open 2022;12:e059540
  2. Bharath Kumar Tirupakuzhi Vijayaraghavan, Ramesh Venkataraman, Yamunadevi Ramanathan, Saravanan Margabandhu, Devachandran Jayakumar et al. A Pilot Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial of Intravenous Vitamin C in Adults With Sepsis in the Intensive Care Unit: The Lessening Organ Dysfunction With Vitamin C-India (LOVIT-India) trial. Indian J Crit Care Med 2023; DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-24587
  3. Pryanka Relan, Nkengafac Villyen Motaze , Kavita Kothari, Lisa Askie, Olivier Le Polain, Maria D Van Kerkhove, Janet Diaz, Bharath Kumar Tirupakuzhi Vijayaraghavan. Severity and Outcomes of Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 compared to Delta variant and severity of Omicron sublineages: a systematic review and metanalysis. BMJ Glob Health 2023;8:e012328
  4. Bharath Kumar Tirupakuzhi Vijayaraghavan, Dilanthi Priyardarshini, Aasiyah Rashan, Abi Beane, Ramesh Venkataraman, Nagarajan Ramakrishnan, Rashan Haniffa. Validation of a simplified risk prediction model using a cloud based critical care registry in a lower-middle income country. PLoS ONE 15(12):e0244989. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244989
  5. Bharath Kumar Tirupakuzhi Vijayaraghavan, Ena Gupta, Nagarajan Ramakrishnan, Abi Beane, Rashan Haniffa, Nazir Lone et al. Barriers and facilitators to the conduct of critical care research in low and lower-middle income countries: A scoping review. PLoS One 2022;17(5):e0266836

Honours and Awards

  • Young Researcher Award for the year 2020, Apollo Hospitals Educational and Research Foundation, Chennai, India
  • Bronze Medal for Academic Excellence from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India

Other responsibilities

Consultant in the Department of Critical Care Medicine, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, India.

Links

View Dr Bharath Kumar's profile on ResearchGate

Collaborators

Internal

  • Prof Rashan Haniffa, CIR, University of Edinburgh
  • Dr Abi Beane, CIR, University of Edinburgh
  • Prof Nazie Lone, University of Edinburgh

External

  • Dr Neill KJ Adhikari, University of Toronto, Canada
  • Prof Balasubramanian Venkatesh, University of Queensland, Australia