Research groups
Colleges
Najib M Rahman
BM BCh MA (oxon) MSc (LSHTM) FRCP DPhil
Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Director ORTU
- Director, Oxford Respiratory Trials Unit (ORTU).
- Group Head / PI
- Consultant Physician
- National Speciality Lead, Respiratory Disorders, NIHR CRN
- NIHR Senior Investigator
About me
I am Director of the Oxford Respiratory Trials Unit (ORTU).
My personal research area is pleural disease, for which I received MRC Training Fellowship funding to conduct my DPhil. My group has designed and led multiple multicentre randomised trials in pleural disease which have altered treatment for thousands of patients per year, and appear in national and international guidelines. This includes diagnostics in malignant effusion, treatment of malignant effusion, pleural infection and pneumothorax, and the use of ultrasound and thoracoscopy.
In parallel, I lead the Translational Pleural Laboratory, which utilises clinical samples linked to diagnosis and key clinical outcome data to understand the pathobiology of pleural disease, and identify potential new areas of treatment.
Ongoing Research
Our current programme of research is focussed on
1. Practice changing pragmatic trials in all areas of respiratory medicine through collaborative multicentre phase 3 studies (NIHR and HTA funding).
2. Translational science using pleural fluid and pleural biopsies to delineate underlying pathology, phenotype and treatment targets (funded via the Oxford NIHR BRC).
3. Collaborative work across a number of different academic areas including radiology, oncology, surgery and imaging.
Key publications
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Intrapleural use of tissue plasminogen activator and DNase in pleural infection
Rahman NM. et al, (2011), New England Journal of Medicine, 365, 518 - 526
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Effect of an indwelling pleural catheter vs chest tube and talc pleurodesis for relieving dyspnea in patients with malignant pleural effusion: the TIME2 randomized controlled trial.
Davies HE. et al, (2012), JAMA, 307, 2383 - 2389
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Effect of Opioids vs NSAIDs and Larger vs Smaller Chest Tube Size on Pain Control and Pleurodesis Efficacy Among Patients With Malignant Pleural Effusion
Rahman NM. et al, (2015), JAMA, 314, 2641 - 2641
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Molnupiravir plus usual care versus usual care alone as early treatment for adults with COVID-19 at increased risk of adverse outcomes (PANORAMIC): an open-label, platform-adaptive randomised controlled trial
Butler CC. et al, (2023), The Lancet, 401, 281 - 293
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Ambulatory management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax: an open-label, randomised controlled trial.
Hallifax RJ. et al, (2020), Lancet (London, England), 396, 39 - 49
Recent publications
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Glucocorticoid treatment and new‐onset hyperglycaemia and diabetes in people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Golubic R. et al, (2025), Diabetic Medicine, 42
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Prognostic significance of pleural fluid microbiological positivity in pleural infection: a bicentric 10-year retrospective observational study.
Wong C. et al, (2025), Respiratory research, 26
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Universal Multiplex Panel Testing of Donor Lungs as a Strategy to Optimize Antibiotic Prophylaxis Against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria.
Abdulqawi R. et al, (2025), Transplant infectious disease : an official journal of the Transplantation Society
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Management of Parapneumonic Effusion and Empyema
Bhatnagar M. et al, (2025), Clinics in Chest Medicine
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Corrigendum to “No evidence of difference in mortality with amoxicillin versus co-amoxiclav for hospital treatment of community-acquired pneumonia” [J Infect 88 (2024) 106161]
Wei J. et al, (2024), Journal of Infection, 89, 106361 - 106361
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Multidisciplinary management of adult patients with chylothorax: a consensus statement.
Agrawal A. et al, (2024), The European respiratory journal, 64
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Chest Tubes and Pleural Drainage: History and Current Status in Pleural Disease Management
Sorino C. et al, (2024), Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13, 6331 - 6331
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Complicated Pleural Infection is Associated With Prolonged Recovery and Reduced Functional Ability.
Meggyesy AM. et al, (2024), Journal of bronchology & interventional pulmonology, 31
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Pro: indwelling pleural catheters cause harm to patients.
Iqbal B. et al, (2024), Breathe (Sheffield, England), 20
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1-year health outcomes associated with systemic corticosteroids for COVID-19: a longitudinal cohort study.
Leavy OC. et al, (2024), ERJ open research, 10, 474 - 2024
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Health outcomes 3 months and 6 months after molnupiravir treatment for COVID-19 for people at higher risk in the community (PANORAMIC): a randomised controlled trial
Harris V. et al, (2024), The Lancet Infectious Diseases
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Navigational Bronchoscopy vs CT Scan-Guided Transthoracic Needle Biopsy for the Diagnosis of Indeterminate Lung Nodules: Protocol and Rationale for the Navigation Endoscopy to Reach Indeterminate Lung Nodules vs Transthoracic Needle Aspiration, a Randomized Controlled Study Multicenter Randomized Trial
Lentz RJ. et al, (2024), CHEST Pulmonary, 2
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Reply to Ravaglia et al.: MIST-3 Is Well Worth an Echo!
Bedawi EO. et al, (2024), American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 210, 695 - 696
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Reply: Guideline recommendations don't exist in a vacuum.
Walker S. et al, (2024), The European respiratory journal, 64
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Diagnostic utility of electrocardiogram for screening of cardiac injury on cardiac magnetic resonance in post-hospitalised COVID-19 patients: A prospective multicenter study.
Samat AHA. et al, (2024), International journal of cardiology
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ERS Statement on Benign Pleural Effusions in Adults.
Sundaralingam A. et al, (2024), The European respiratory journal
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Front-door thoracic ultrasound in patients with community-acquired pneumonia to diagnose and predict pleural infection: a prospective study.
Bhatnagar M. et al, (2024), ERJ open research, 10, 662 - 2023
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Advances in the diagnosis and follow-up of pleural lesions: a scoping review.
Panou V. et al, (2024), Expert review of respiratory medicine, 18, 423 - 434
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Leveraging the pleural space for anticancer therapies in pleural mesothelioma.
Blyth KG. et al, (2024), Lancet Respir Med
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Joint ERS/EACTS/ESTS clinical practice guidelines on adults with spontaneous pneumothorax.
Walker S. et al, (2024), The European respiratory journal, 63