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Condition (MeSH)

Critical Illness

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 1,750 trials for Critical Illness or a narrower condition beneath it.

MeSH D016638 Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms C23
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Phase 1 Phase 1 19 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 19 Phase 2 Phase 2 76 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 24 Phase 3 Phase 3 82 Phase 4 Phase 4 94 Not applicable Not applicable 625 Observational Observational 811 Phase 1 Phase 1 19 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 19 Phase 2 Phase 2 76 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 24 Phase 3 Phase 3 82 Phase 4 Phase 4 94 Not applicable Not applicable 625 Observational Observational 811

Trials per phase (log scale)

1,750 of the 1,750 trials are tagged with Critical Illness itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Critical Illness report as a PDF

The PDF carries up to 50 rows of each section, where the page shows the first few, with the sources listed. Enter a work email and confirm it from the message we send, and the report follows by email.

When did Critical Illness trials start? (28)

Shown in this order: most recent first, 1990 onwards. 2026 is partial: trials registered with a 2026 start date so far, not a full year. 11 trials are registered to start in 2027 or later, and not listed here.

Trials over time, by phase

  • Phase 1
  • Phase 1/2
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 2/3
  • Phase 3
  • Phase 4
  • Not applicable
  • Observational

Top of scale: 136

1996: 1 trials (Phase 2/3 1) 1999: 1 trials (Observational 1) 2001: 3 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 1, Phase 2 1) 2002: 2 trials (Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 1) 2003: 14 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 2, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 6, Phase 2 2) 2004: 22 trials (Observational 6, Not applicable 7, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 1, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 4, Phase 1 1) 2005: 24 trials (Observational 5, Not applicable 8, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 2, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 4, Phase 1 1) 2006: 24 trials (Observational 9, Not applicable 5, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 2) 2007: 22 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 8, Phase 4 5, Phase 2 2) 2008: 30 trials (Observational 8, Not applicable 14, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 1) 2009: 26 trials (Observational 9, Not applicable 6, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 1, Phase 2/3 2) 2010: 36 trials (Observational 15, Not applicable 13, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 1) 2011: 49 trials (Observational 22, Not applicable 13, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 5, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 2012: 49 trials (Observational 21, Not applicable 12, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 5, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 1) 2013: 45 trials (Observational 17, Not applicable 17, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 4, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 1) 2014: 64 trials (Observational 25, Not applicable 26, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2015: 64 trials (Observational 27, Not applicable 19, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 1, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2016: 74 trials (Observational 30, Not applicable 33, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 5, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 1) 2017: 106 trials (Observational 48, Not applicable 35, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 4, Phase 1 1) 2018: 112 trials (Observational 57, Not applicable 40, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 6) 2019: 106 trials (Observational 47, Not applicable 47, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2020: 132 trials (Observational 83, Not applicable 36, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 5, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2021: 103 trials (Observational 48, Not applicable 38, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 7, Phase 1/2 1) 2022: 108 trials (Observational 55, Not applicable 40, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2023: 116 trials (Observational 54, Not applicable 45, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 2, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 2024: 136 trials (Observational 71, Not applicable 57, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 3) 2025: 103 trials (Observational 44, Not applicable 43, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 4, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1)

Trials registered with a start date in each year, 1990 onward, stacked by phase (complete years only; the current partial year is in the table's notes). The table below lists the same counts, most recent years first.

Trials started per year
Year Trials started
2026 (partial year) 166
2025 103
2024 136
2023 116
2022 108
2021 103
2020 132
2019 106
2018 112
2017 106

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 170 trials starting in 2026 and about 140 in 2027, the average of the 24 months through September, counted as registered and carried forward. The rows of this table count trials registered so far with a start date in the year, planned starts included; the forecast looks ahead to the count for the whole year, so it is not the same measure. In backtests on conditions of this size, forecasts made part-way through the year were typically off by about 13 percent and ran about 12 percent low against the count later registered; forecasts made before the year began were off by about 19 percent and ran about 17 percent low against the count later registered, and had about the same error as repeating last year's count. These figures rest on a few years of history (target years from 2018 to 2025, varying by figure), place each condition as it is mapped today rather than as it was then, and score against a count for the newest year that was still being revised. Only condition series were scored.

Prediction, not a registry value: median of 36 months from start to primary completion across 119 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 19 months across 1,022 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Critical Illness trials in? (8)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 19
Phase 1/2 19
Phase 2 76
Phase 2/3 24
Phase 3 82
Phase 4 94
Not applicable 625
Observational 811

How many Critical Illness trials are recruiting? (9)

Shown in this order: the order a trial moves through, from not yet recruiting to unknown.

Trials by recruitment status
Status Trials
Not yet recruiting 128
Recruiting 217
Enrolling by invitation 16
Active, not recruiting 43
Completed 909

Status as registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Each trial is counted once.

Which drugs are being tested for Critical Illness? (6)

Shown in this order: most trials first. One row per drug, matched to a single molecule under all its names, ranked by number of trials.

Drugs tested
Drug Trials
DEXMEDETOMIDINE 15
PROPOFOL 11
PMI-150 (intranasal ketamine) 6
LOVENOX 6
Maltodextrin 5

Interventions as named in the registry (9)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
Standard Care 11
D. Midazolam 10
I.V. Meropenem 6
Furosemide-IR 6
Enteral nutrition 5

These are the names sponsors entered on ClinicalTrials.gov that we have not matched to a single molecule. Some are drugs under a brand or code name; others are procedures, doses or arm labels.

Which serious adverse events do Critical Illness trials report? (10)

Shown in this order: most subjects affected first. Subjects affected summed across trials, a cross-trial signal, not a rate.

Serious adverse events in this condition's trials
Adverse event Subjects affected Trials
Sepsis 976 5
Acute kidney injury 787 2
New arrhythmia 287 1
Acute lung injury/ Acute respiratory distress syndrome 238 1
Cardiac arrest 235 5

Which publications cover Critical Illness? (4,936)

Shown in this order: major-topic papers first, then newest, then most linked to trials.

Not on this page

Not measured: delivery record.

Checked, with nothing recorded for this condition: lead sponsors, prevalence, rare-disease identity, and sub-conditions in mesh.

Browse all condition evidence pages