Our mission is to develop, deliver, interpret and disseminate patient-facing primary care research to the highest international standards.
Welcome to the Primary Health Care Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Oxford, the world's leading centre for primary care clinical trials. Our unit is dedicated to advancing the field of primary care research by conducting high-quality, innovative clinical trials that aim to improve the health and wellbeing of patients and communities.
The Primary Care Clinical Trials Unit is an integral part of the University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences. Our research themes are aligned with the departmental priorities on infectious diseases, cardiovascular and metabolic disease, behavioural medicine and other topics of major national and international importance.
With a multidisciplinary team of clinical staff, researchers, and statisticians, we are committed to conducting rigorous clinical trials that address important health questions relevant to primary care. Our trials cover a wide range of areas, including chronic diseases, mental health, infectious diseases, and preventive care, among others.
As a unit, we are committed to promoting patient-centred care and involving patients and communities in all aspects of our research. We also prioritize the dissemination of our research findings to policymakers, healthcare professionals, and the general public, to ensure that our work has a meaningful impact on health policies and practices.
The unit is part of the Primary Care and Vaccine Collaborative Clinical Trials Unit (PCVC-CTU) consortium in recognition of its ability to coordinate high quality, academically-led, multi-centred clinical trials. We work closely with NHS Trusts across England and Wales and the UK Clinical Research Network.
We invite you to explore our website to learn more about our ongoing clinical trials, our research team, and our commitment to advancing the field of primary care research. Thank you for visiting the Primary Health Care Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Oxford.
CTU Leadership:
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Chris Butler
Professor of Primary Care
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Ly-Mee Yu
Professor of Clinical Trials and Biostatistics

Results and Publications
See a selection of the recent publications, abstracts and posters that have been produced by our clinical trial teams.
Highlight publications
Effect of Probiotic Use on Antibiotic Administration among Care Home Residents: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Butler CC. et al, (2020), JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association, 324, 47 - 56
C-reactive protein testing to guide antibiotic prescribing for COPD exacerbations
Butler CC. et al, (2019), New England Journal of Medicine, 381, 111 - 120
Prevalence of chronic kidney disease in the community using data from OxRen: A UK population-based cohort study
Hirst JA. et al, (2020), British Journal of General Practice, 70, E285 - E293
TELEMONITORING AND/OR SELF-MONITORING OF BLOOD PRESSURE IN HYPERTENSION (TASMINH4): A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL
McManus R. et al, (2018), JOURNAL OF HYPERTENSION, 36, E5 - E5