Symptom cluster profiles following traumatic orthopedic injuries: A protocol

Area of Science:

• Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Traumatic orthopedic injuries (TOI) affect millions, incurring significant costs and leading to prevalent post-injury symptoms.
• Symptoms like pain, sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depression often co-occur in clusters, impacting overall health.
• Understanding these symptom clusters is vital for identifying individuals at risk for negative long-term outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the protocol for a cross-sectional study on symptom cluster profiles in TOI survivors.
• To identify symptom cluster profiles immediately following TOI.
• To examine the association of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels and its val66met mutation with symptom cluster membership.

Main Methods:

• Recruitment of 150 TOI survivors within 72 hours of injury.
• Assessment of symptom clusters including pain, sleep disturbance, anxiety, depression, and stressor-related disorders.
• Measurement of serum BDNF concentrations and genotyping for the BDNF val66met mutation.

Main Results:

• The study aims to describe symptom cluster profiles in TOI survivors.
• It will examine demographic and clinical factors associated with symptom cluster membership.
• Hypotheses will test the association of low serum BDNF and the BDNF val66met mutation with symptom cluster profiles.

Conclusions:

• Identifying symptom cluster profiles following TOI is a key step towards understanding patient heterogeneity.
• BDNF dysregulation may represent a biological mechanism underlying these symptom clusters.
• Findings could inform future precision-health strategies for managing post-TOI symptoms.