August 24th, 2010
In an article published in the August edition of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Brent Eastman, chief medical officer of Scripps Health and a trauma surgeon at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, says that a shortage of trauma surgeons, high death rates in rural areas and “a disconnect between existing trauma systems and regional disaster plans” all add up to an alarming state of trauma care in this country.
While the trauma systems are laudable in some areas of the country, such as San Deigo, where Eastman co-founded a successful trauma system that has reduced the percentage of preventable deaths from 22% to 2% since 1984, in many rural areas, access to appropriate trauma care is significantly hindered. “Death rates…are unnecessarily high in those areas, leading to the fact that trauma is the leading cause of death for those under age 45 in this country.”
Eastman’s article highlights some successful trauma systems, including the military trauma systems in Iraq and Afghanistan, which quickly move injured soldiers from combat zones to more sophisticated care.
Read the press release or the full article (requires registration).
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August 18th, 2010
In a new study titled “The Value of Trauma Center Care,” the authors report that while trauma center care is expensive, the benefits in terms of lives saved and productive life years gained outweigh the costs associated with it. Particularly, for those with severe injuries and those younger than 55, the gains have most value because the costs associated with trauma care for those who are less severely injured are higher. The findings indicate the importance of ensuring that patients are taken to appropriate levels of care in order to increase the efficiency of the system.
The results of the study are reported in the July issue of The Journal of Trauma Injury, Infection and Critical Care. Two of the authors are NTI board members: Ellen MacKenzie, PhD, at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Gregory J. Jurkovich, MD, at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Read a good summary of the article.
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August 13th, 2010
Mauli Agrawal, a biomedical engineer and dean of the College of Engineering at UT San Antonio, told the San Antonio Business Journal that the city should focus on trauma care and research to distinguish itself on the bioscience front. He believes this is the area of greatest opportunity.
Dr. Ronald Stewart, trauma medical director for University Health System and a member of the NTI board of directors, is also quoted in the story, pointing out that San Antonio’s military/civilian connections make it the perfect location as a center of excellence for trauma care and research.
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August 10th, 2010
If you’re following ABC’s Boston Med, here’s a great Q&A session with Dr. Hasan Alam, a trauma surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital who was featured in the July 29th episode of the show. Boston Med is a docu-drama about life in the emergency department.
When Dr. Hasan was asked if there was anything else he wanted to add about the episode in which he appeared, he gave trauma researchers a nod: “Another aspect of this type of story that doesn’t get enough coverage is the people who make it possible to advance the field. Unfortunately, one thing that advances the field of trauma care dramatically is war. Every time there’s a war, the field of trauma benefits, as we learn new approaches for things like resuscitation and hemorrhage control, emergency surgeries and rehabilitation techniques.
“The Office of Naval Research, the Defense Advance Research Project Agency and the U.S Army Medical Research and Material Command don’t get enough credit for the enormous support they provide for trauma research. It is due to the ongoing support by such agencies and heroic efforts of countless military physicians that the care of the injured has been revolutionized in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of these innovations have already been adopted by the civilian trauma community and are saving lives every day, including the life of the patient shown in this episode.”
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August 2nd, 2010
The Association for Women in Communications (AWC) today announced the recipients of its annual Clarion Awards, honoring excellence in clear, concise communications. The National Trauma Institute’s website was awarded top honors in the “Website–$10,000 and below annual budget” category. We’re proud to be able to do a lot with a little!
For more information on AWC and the national Clarion Awards, visit the AWC website.
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July 29th, 2010
An incredibly disturbing public service announcement produced in the UK has been procured by the North and South Carolina regional Automobile Association of America (AAA) in its campaign to stop texting while driving. Titled “You Text – You Drive – You Die”, the video will air on 20 cable channels in the Carolinas starting this week.
Trauma surgeons like to say there are no vehicle accidents, collisions are caused by people deliberately doing stupid things. Nothing could be made more clear in this video. This is trauma, and it kills 170,000 people in the United States every year. Even with such graphic warnings, trauma surgeons will continue to try to put people back together after traumatic injuries like those shown in the video. Sometimes they are successful, but too often they’re not because they don’t have the right tools.
Help fund trauma research, and put more tools into the hands of trauma surgeons.
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July 29th, 2010
With the deadline closing last Friday, July 23, NTI saw 92 pre-proposals submitted for $2.8 million in available trauma research funding. The science committee now takes on the difficult task of reviewing them and choosing the most scientifically sound and promising, which will receive invitations to submit full proposals. The large number of high-quality pre-proposals is indication of a pent-up demand for trauma research and the great need to secure more funding.
Those who submitted pre-proposals can follow the status of their application here.
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July 23rd, 2010
NTI’s awareness and giving campaign, “Stop the Bleeding,” is featured in the Marketing & Media column in today’s issue of the San Antonio Business Journal.
Writer Andi Rodriguez describes the goals of the campaign and some of our strategies to build funding for trauma research, including our Times Square message asking people to text TRAUMA to 20222 to make a $10 donation.
Posted in National Trauma Institute News, Trauma Fundraising | No Comments »
July 20th, 2010
In the July 19 issue of Archives of Surgery, Dr. Carlos Brown, medical director of trauma services at University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin, TX, provides evidence that reusing a trauma patient’s own blood has several positive benefits. Complications that can result from transfusions of donated blood include adverse reactions and risk of disease transmission, which are mitigated when the doctors capture, filter and return blood to the patient.
While reuse of patients’ blood is relatively common in planned surgeries, the same does not hold true in emergency surgeries such as those that occur following traumatic events like car collisions. Brown said that’s because there must be a specialist–a perfusionist–on staff who can perform the procedure. In light of the shortage of donated blood and the decreased risk from reusing blood, Brown believes that trauma centers should look to adopt the procedure more widely.
Read more about the study in this U.S. News story.
Posted in Trauma Media Coverage, Trauma Research | No Comments »
July 14th, 2010
Boston Med, a new ABC television series airing at 10:00 p.m./9:00 p.m. Central on Thursday nights , is bringing a dose of reality into America’s living rooms. A real-life drama filmed at Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women’s, and Children’s Hospital Boston, the documentary provides a behind-the-scenes look at the caregivers and their work.
We think this is a show that everyone needs to see in order to appreciate the heartwrenching work of trauma care personnel. It also is a reminder of the prevalence of trauma in our society and the need to continue to advance medical practice in order to reduce death and disability due to traumatic injury. Watch episodes online.
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