The Coalition for National Trauma Research kept showing up during this past week’s 83rd Annual Meeting of the American College of Surgeons in Las Vegas! Aside from our usual informational booth, where we educated attendees about our study management services and new investigator resources, CNTR featured prominently in several presentations and posters.

Ariel Knight, MD, presented a poster about the work of the AAST Geriatric Committee to increase the skill level of geriatric care teams through the use of an educational video: “Can PowerPoint Save Lives? Assessment of Equity and Reach of Traditional Dissemination Channels in Geriatric Trauma Education — A Mixed-Methods Study Using Digital Analytics.” CNTR was acknowledged as a valuable partner who helped distribute the video to its membership and contribute to some improved knowledge translation of anticoagulation management in geriatric TBI.

Melanie Fritz, MD presented a poster titled “Novel Strategies for RCTs for Trauma Care: Harnessing the Power of CNTR, TQIP and the Stepped Wedge Design.” CNTR’s role in this project included surveying trauma centers to identify high-volume sites appropriate for Dr. Gretchen Schwarze‘s Best Case/Worst Case ICU study. The novel study design leveraged partnerships with TQIP and CNTR to overcome challenges to enrollment in trauma research.

In a presentation on rural trauma care in the United States, executive director of the Georgia Trauma Commission, Elizabeth Atkins, MSN, RN, TCRN, referred to a paper titled “Access to trauma center care: A statewide system-based approach.” Authors of that paper, which concludes that concerning gaps remain in access to trauma centers, as evidenced by the results of the Multi-Institutional Multi-Disciplinary Injury Mortality Investigation in the Prehospital Civilian Environment (MIMIC), led by Brian Eastridge, MD, include CNTR staff members Nick Medrano, MS, Lizette Villarreal, MA, Michelle Price, PhD, and Pamela Bixby, MA.

Finally, CNTR staff member Monica Phillips, MSN, MBA, presented during a Friday lunch session: “Leading a Successful Multi-Institutional Trial, from A to Z.” Joining a group of seasoned investigators sharing the tricks of the trade, Phillips explained how investigators can employ the National Trauma Research Repository (NTRR) for data sharing and secondary analyses using the ProForms module in the the system.

Find us at the upcoming Orthopedic Trauma Association meeting in Montreal next month or the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma meeting in Tucson in January, 2025, or visit CNTR’s website to learn more about our services and resources for trauma investigators at: Nattrauma.org.