About CCR
What we are
What we do
How we do it
We review the literature daily, collating the most important articles. These are added to the website, creating a single repository of the most important landmark trials, open access guidelines and narrative reviews.
Via our meetings and ad hoc livestreams, we also host results presentations of major international trials.
Through our podcast, book and blog, we discuss the implications of the latest trials.
Our story
The first iteration, Critical Care Knowledge, started in 2008, as a means of sharing important papers in critical care.
In 2009, it was rebranded and relaunched as Critical Care Reviews. Over the next 15 years, CCR has grown into one of the most respected critical care educational platforms in the world.
Today, the CCR platform spans a website, weekly newsletter, two meetings, podcast, ad hoc livestreams and annual book. It is used by tens of thousands, benefitting the patients they care for.
The meetings, in Belfast and Melbourne, are widely considered to be the best critical care meetings globally. Our most recent meeting, CCR Down Under, was viewed in over 90 countries.
Our Vision
Why we do it
How we fund our work
After a decade of growth, the ever increasing time committment to maintain our resources forced us to become professional or reduce our workload. We now have one fulltime employee, managing the various operations of the platform, as well as the Belfast meeting. To fund this, we charge clinicians in high- and high-middle income countries to receive the weekly newsletter. Those in lower income countries receive it for free. Everything else on the platform is free, including the livestream of our meetings.
CCR Supporter
If you are in a high income country, you can support our work directly, and the work of your colleagues around the world indirectly, via a one time donation or a regular newsletter subscription. You can help for as little as the price of a cup of coffee
Critical Care Reviews
Sharing Science
Join us in Titanic Belfast to discuss the best critical care trials in the world. June 10th to 12th, 2026
Meetings
Held in Belfast in June and Melbourne in December, the Critical Care Reviews Meeting hosts first results presentations of major trial results, often with simultaneous publication in the major journals
Newsletter
The best critical care literature published over the past seven days, collated and freely emailed to thousands of users every week
Livestream
Held on an ad hoc basis, we host and freely livestream major trial results, usually in conjunction with a simultaneous publication in a major journal
Podcast
The Critical Care Reviews Podcast discusses major trials with their chief investigator as well as following up on questions from livestreams
Journal Watch
Few people have the time to stay up-to-date with the literature. Updated daily, we watch the major journals so you don't have to
Book
The annual Critical Care Reviews Book summaries, critiques and puts into context the best critical care trials of the year
Paper of the Day
Join us to read 1 paper per day and stay up-to-date as we cover the spectrum of critical care across 2025
Blog
The Critical Care Reviews Blog delves deep into major randomised controlled trials to explore why the trial returned the result it did
Hot Guidelines
Guidelines are a great synthesis of the latest evidence in a single field. We have hundreds of high quality open access guidelines
Hot Trials
Every year, we gather the most important critical care trials published over that 12 month period, and put them all in one place
Major Trials
We collate and categorise all the major critical care trials by physiological system. If you need to know what major trials exist, we have them listed.
Website
The Critical Care Reviews website houses all our resources. Check out the various tabs on the menu for more details on our content
Rob Mac Sweeney
Rob started Critical Care Reviews in 2009 to freely share the latest scientific advances in the field of intensive care medicine. During the day, he is a fulltime intensivist at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is an Honary Professor of Practice at Queen's University Belfast,
Emma Mac Sweeney
Emma started in Spring 2022 as the first Director of Operations for Critical Care Reviews. She manages the financial and logistical activities of this continually growing organisation. She is Critical Care Reviews' first employee.
Rob Mac Sweeney
Rob started Critical Care Reviews in 2009 to freely share the latest scientific advances in the field of intensive care medicine. During the day, he is a fulltime intensivist at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is an Honary Professor of Practice at Queen's University Belfast,
Chris Nutt
Chris works across the platform, driving progress in the growth and direction of the organisation. He is a fulltime intensivist and anaesthetist at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.
Catriona Kelly
Catriona leads the organisation of the annual meeting, and specialises in the putting toegther a diverse and engaging social programme. She is a fulltime neurointensivist and neuroanaesthetist in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.
Phil Gillen
Phil is a key component in the success of both the meeting and livestream, taking on unseen roles to ensure their smooth operation. He is also a fulltime intensivist and anaesthetist at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, as well as the lead for the adult critical care transfer service for Northern Ireland.
Emma Mac Sweeney
Emma started in Spring 2022 as the first Director of Operations for Critical Care Reviews. She manages the financial and logistical activities of this continually growing organisation. She is Critical Care Reviews' first employee.
Bronwen Connolly
Bronwen is a Professor of Critical Care at Queen's University Belfast and leads the MARCH trial, investigating mucolytics in criticallly ill patients. She
Rowan Grieves
CCR Down Under is run in association with The Alfred Intensive Care Academic Centre, with AV support from Manta Communications, Melbourne.