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Updated: May 30, 2026
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Controlled Cortical Impact Model for Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: August 5, 2014
Evidence-based community consultation for traumatic brain injury
Catherine A Lynch1, Debra E Houry, Dajun Dai
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. calynch@emory.edu
Summary
Geospatial techniques effectively identified at-risk populations for traumatic brain injury (TBI). This data can guide targeted community consultation and public disclosure for clinical trials needing emergency exception from informed consent.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Geospatial Analysis
- Clinical Trial Ethics
Background:
- Clinical trials requiring emergency exception from informed consent (EFIC) necessitate robust community consultation (CC) and public disclosure (PD).
- Identifying populations at high risk for conditions requiring EFIC is crucial for effective outreach.
- Geospatial techniques offer a potential tool for this identification process.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility of geospatial techniques in informing targeted CC and PD for clinical trials involving EFIC.
- To identify high-risk populations for traumatic brain injury (TBI) using geospatial methods.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from January 2007 to December 2009 from a Level I trauma center's trauma registry.
- Collected patient demographics, injury details, and clinical data (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] 3-12, blunt head injury).
- Geocoded patients' zip codes for population density and clustering analysis.
Main Results:
- Identified 179 patients with moderate to severe TBI over a 2-year period.
- Mapping TBI incidence delineated at-risk populations.
- Four zip codes showed higher TBI incidences, with one exhibiting a rate of 80 per 100,000 population.
Conclusions:
- Geospatial techniques combined with hospital data can characterize potential clinical trial subjects.
- These methods effectively delineate high-risk populations for targeted CC and PD strategies.
- This approach supports ethical and efficient clinical trial recruitment in emergency situations.
