Karthik Venkatesh is an Intensive Care Staff Specialist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and is a PhD Candidate with the Kirby Institute. He is an Honorary Research Fellow within the Critical Care Division at the George Institute for Global Health. His PhD is focussed on severe acute pancreatitis, investigating both its immunopathological mechanisms as well as understanding trends in its epidemiology in Australian intensive care units. His other research interests are centred around translational immunology and outcomes for critically unwell patients.
BMed MD (Dist) FCICM
Dr Karthik Venkatesh
BMed MD (Dist) FCICM
Awards
2023: Professor Don Harrison Medal for College of Intensive Care Fellowship Examination
2021: NSW College of Intensive Care Medicine Regional Research Presentation - Prize for best research presentation
2016: Prince of Wales Clinical School Brian Yeo Prize for best clinical teacher award
2015: Prince of Wales Clinical School Max Thorpe Prize for best performance in final year examinations
2015: Prince of Wales Clinical School Graham McDonald Prize for Medicine
2013: Prize for best research presentation at St Vincent’s Hospital UNSW ILP Grand Rounds
Grants
2025: NHMRC Clinical Trials Grant. Corticosteroids in Septic Shock (CREST) clinical trial (Associate Investigator)
2025: MRFF Clinical Trials Grant. Fludrocortisone in Septic Shock Evaluation: The FINESSE adaptive randomised controlled trial (Associate Investigator)
2024: St Vincent’s Clinic Foundation Grant (Associate Investigator)
2021: Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship
Research activities
Research Activities
Current clinical studies:
2022-current: Principal Investigator. Severe Acute Pancreatitis Looking for ImmuNe siGnatures (SAPLING) Study. A prospective observational study of the immune profile in severe acute pancreatitis
Pending clinical trials:
Associate Investigator. Cytokine Haemadsorption to Enhance Allograft Recovery and Treatments (CytoHEART). A randomised controlled trial of cytokine haemadsorption in adult patients undergoing orthotopic heart transplantation.
Publications
Donaldson LH, Vlok R, Sakurai K, Burrows M, McDonald G, Venkatesh K, Bagshaw SM, Bellomo R, Delaney A, Myburgh J, Hammond NE, Venkatesh B. Quantifying the Impact of Alternative Definitions of Sepsis-Associated Acute Kidney Injury on its Incidence and Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Crit Care Med. 2024 Aug 1;52(8):1264-1274. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000006284. PMID: 38557802.
Barreto SG, Kaambwa B, Venkatesh K, Sasson SC, Andersen C, Delaney A, Bihari S, Pilcher D; P-ANZICS Collaborative. Mortality and costs related to severe acute pancreatitis in the intensive care units of Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), 2003-2020. Pancreatology. 2023 Jun;23(4):341-349. doi: 10.1016/j.pan.2023.04.006. PMID: 37121877.
Venkatesh K, Glenn H, Delaney A, Andersen CR, Sasson SC. Fire in the belly: A scoping review of the immunopathological mechanisms of acute pancreatitis. Front Immunol. 2023 Jan 11;13:1077414. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1077414. PMID: 36713404
Venkatesh K, Henschke A, Lee RP, Delaney A. Patient-centred outcomes are under-reported in the critical care burns literature: a systematic review. Trials. 2022 Mar 4;23(1):199. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06104-3. PMID: 35246209; PMCID: PMC8896280.
White H, Venkatesh K, Venkatesh B. Systematic Review of the Use of Ketones in the Management of Acute and Chronic Neurological Disorders. J Neurol Neurosci. 2018, 8:2.
Robinson K, Krishnan A, Venkatesh K et al. The temporal profile of adiponectin in healthy human subjects: a comparison with additional inflammatory and endocrine markers. Abstracts of the Endocrine Society of Australia ASM 2016. Clin Endo. 2017 Vol 86 p58. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/13652265/2017/86
Venkatesh K, Nair PS, Hoechter DJ, Buscher H. Current limitations of the assessment of haemostasis in adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients and the role of point-of-care testing. Anaesth Intensive Care. 2016 Nov;44(6):669-680. doi: 10.1177/0310057X1604400601. PMID: 27832552.
Nair P, Hoechter DJ, Buscher H, Venkatesh K, Whittam S, Joseph J, Jansz P. Prospective observational study of hemostatic alterations during adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) using point-of-care thromboelastometry and platelet aggregometry. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2015 Apr;29(2):288-96. doi: 10.1053/j.jvca.2014.06.006. Epub 2015 Feb 2. PMID: 25655210.
Semark AJ, Venkatesh K et al. The compatibility of a low concentration of hydrocortisone sodium succinate with selected drugs during a simulated Y-site administration. Crit Care Resusc. 2013 Mar;15(1):63-6. PMID: 23432505.
Conference Presentations
National research meetings
2024: Best Free Paper Presentation, CICM ASM, Gold Coast. An analysis of outcomes for acute pancreatitis in ANZ ICUs and developing a model for predicting ICU length of stay.
2022: Thesis presentation, NHMRC HIV Program Grant Meeting. A scoping review of the immunopathological mechanisms of acute pancreatitis.
2017: Short Paper Presentation, CICM ASM, Sydney. A systematic review of the role of induced ketosis in patients with neurological and neurosurgical disorders.
2013: Poster Presentation, ANZICS ASM, Hobart. Point of care coagulation testing in adult ECMO patients: a prospective observational study
Local research meetings
2024: Critical Care Research Forum, Critical Care Division. The George Institute for Global Health. Investigating the immune mechanisms of severe acute pancreatitis and analysing the burden of severe acute pancreatitis on ICUs in ANZ.
2023: The George Institute and Kirby Institute Sepsis Stakeholder Meeting, UNSW. Using Severe Acute Pancreatitis as a model for understanding dysregulated inflammation in critical illness (SAPLING Study).
2021: NSW CICM Trainee Project Presentation. A systematic review of outcome reporting in the critical care burns literature
2014: Fast Forward Research Symposium, The Garvan Institute NSW. Investigating the role of point of care haemostatic testing in adult patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
2013: St Vincent’s Hospital ILP Hospital Grand Rounds: Point of care testing of haemostasis in adult patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.