The Empirical Meropenem vs Piperacillin/Tazobactam for Adult Patients with Sepsis (EMPRESS) trial is an upcoming investigator-initiated, international, parallel-group, randomised, open-label, adaptive clinical trial with an integrated feasibility phase. EMPRESS will assess the effects of empirical meropenem versus piperacillin/tazobactam on mortality and other patient-important outcomes in critically ill adults with sepsis.

The EMPRESS trial is conducted by the Collaboration for Research is Intensive Care (CRIC) and will use the logistic framework and methods developed as part of the INCEPT programme. The EMPRESS trial is specifically funded and supported by grants from the Independent Research Fund Denmark, the Research Council at Rigshospitalet, the Research Fund for Health Research of the Capital Region of Denmark, the Beckett Foundation, Læge Inger Goldmanns Fond, and Grosserer Jakob Ehrenreich og Hustru Grete Ehrenreichs Fond.

For further details and contact information, please see the EMPRESS trial website. The approved protocol can be found here.