Philippe Rola, MD
Founder, Praxis Project
Chief of Intensive Care, Santa Cabrini Hospital
CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, Canada
Dr. Philippe Rola is a specialist in Internal Medicine who has dedicated his clinical practice to critical care for more than 25 years. He currently serves as Chief of Intensive Care at Santa Cabrini Hospital in Montréal, Canada.
His clinical and academic interests include cardiovascular physiology, hemodynamic monitoring, circulatory shock, point-of-care ultrasound, tissue perfusion, and venous congestion. His work emphasizes the integration of physiological principles with practical bedside clinical decision-making.
Dr. Rola has been involved in organizing international medical conferences since the inaugural Critical Care Ultrasound (CCUS) conference in 2008. Since 2018, he has organized The Hospitalist & The Resuscitationist (HR), an international meeting bringing together physicians, educators, and researchers from multiple specialties to explore clinical physiology, resuscitation, and acute care medicine.
He is a faculty member of the Resuscitation Leadership Academy, led by Drs. Scott Weingart and Haney Mallemat, and has contributed to international critical care education through collaborations with EMCrit, invited lectures, and academic publications.
Dr. Rola founded the Praxis Project to extend the unique collaborative spirit of HR beyond the confines of an annual meeting. Conceived as an enduring international platform, Praxis brings together clinicians, educators, and researchers across Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care, Internal Medicine, Anesthesiology, and General Medicine. Its mission is to foster independent medical education, open scientific exchange, and lasting professional collaboration, grounded in a shared commitment to clinical reasoning and bedside physiology.
Clinical and Academic Interests
Hemodynamic physiology · Circulatory shock · Point-of-care ultrasound · Tissue perfusion · Venous congestion and VExUS · Resuscitation · Medical education
Selected Academic and Educational Activities
- Founder, Praxis Project
- Organizer, The Hospitalist & The Resuscitationist (2018–present)
- International medical conference organization since CCUS 2008
- Faculty, Resuscitation Leadership Academy
- Educational collaborator, EMCrit
- Author and co-author of peer-reviewed publications
- Invited speaker at national and international educational events
Selected Publications
VExUS and Venous Congestion
- Rola P, Haycock K, Spiegel R, Beaubien-Souligny W, Denault A. VExUS: common misconceptions, clinical use and future directions. Ultrasound J. 2024;16:49. doi:10.1186/s13089-024-00395-0
- Rola P, Beaubien-Souligny W, Haycock K, Spiegel R, Denault A. VExUS and right ventricular to pulmonary artery uncoupling. Crit Care. 2026;30:56. doi:10.1186/s13054-025-05806-9
- Rola P, Miralles-Aguiar F, Argaiz E, Beaubien-Souligny W, Haycock K, Karimov T, Dinh VA, Spiegel R. Clinical applications of the venous excess ultrasound (VExUS) score: conceptual review and case series. Ultrasound J. 2021;13(1):32. doi:10.1186/s13089-021-00232-8
- Assavapokee T, Rola P, Assavapokee N, Koratala A. Decoding VExUS: a practical guide for excelling in point-of-care ultrasound assessment of venous congestion. Ultrasound J. 2024;16(1):48. doi:10.1186/s13089-024-00396-z
- Melo RH, Gioli-Pereira L, Melo E, Rola P. Venous excess ultrasound score association with acute kidney injury in critically ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Ultrasound J. 2025;17(1):16. doi:10.1186/s13089-025-00413-9
- Abu-Naeima E, Fatthy M, Shalaby MAA, Ayeldeen G, Verbrugge FH, Rola P, Beaubien-Souligny W, Fayed A. Venous excess Doppler ultrasound assessment and loop diuretic efficiency in acute cardiorenal syndrome. BMC Nephrol. 2025;26:157. doi:10.1186/s12882-025-04060-z
- Bhardwaj V, Samprathi A, Saha K, Orozco N, Hegde P, Nizamudin M, Chacko J, Varma MMMK, Denault A, Vikneswaran G, Rola P, Alva A. Dual Doppler dynamics: integrating femoral venous Doppler and VExUS for predicting organ dysfunction in acute heart failure. J Anesth Analg Crit Care. 2025;5(1):65. doi:10.1186/s44158-025-00283-6
- Zolyomi B, Beaubien-Souligny W, Rola P, Furfaro D, Mohanty A. A standardized teaching and competency evaluation tool for venous excess ultrasound: modified Delphi and Angoff consensus recommendations from international experts. J Gen Intern Med. 2026. doi:10.1007/s11606-026-10266-0
Hemodynamics, Perfusion and Resuscitation
- Bhardwaj V, Rola P, Denault A. Beyond mean arterial pressure: the Pulse Energy Ratio as a potential framework for perioperative hemodynamic interpretation. Anesth Res. 2026;3(4):29. doi:10.3390/anesthres3040029
- Melo R, Salgado S, Rola P. Echocardiography for differentiating mixed shock: a hemodynamic interface approach. Curr Pulmonol Rep. 2026;15(1). doi:10.1007/s13665-026-00420-8
- Rola P, Miller A, Haycock K, Spiegel R, Rikhraj K, Kattan E, Hernández G. Understanding the nuanced concept of hemodynamic incoherence and its underlying physiology. J Clin Med. 2026;15(15):5811. doi:10.3390/jcm15155811
- Miller A, Rola P, Spiegel R, Haycock K. Arteriolar collapse and haemodynamic incoherence in shock: rethinking critical closing pressure. J Pers Med. 2026;16:78. doi:10.3390/jpm16020078
- Kenny JS, Rola P. Optimising flow without congestion using the venous-arterial Doppler enhanced resuscitation framework. Australas J Ultrasound Med. 2024;27(3):193-196. doi:10.1002/ajum.12388
- Tavazzi G, Spiegel R, Rola P, Price S, Corradi F, Hockstein M. Multiorgan evaluation of perfusion and congestion using ultrasound in patients with shock. Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care. 2023;12(5):344-352. doi:10.1093/ehjacc/zuad025
Selected Lectures and Educational Resources
Talks and podcasts
Grand Rounds, New York Medical College: Holistic Hemodynamics and VExUS
April 8, 2025 · about 31 minutes
Brazilian Critical Care Congress: VExUS in Hemodynamics
August 16, 2024
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