Exploring the long-term disability outcomes in Trauma patients: study protocol.

Area of Science:

• Trauma care research
• Public health informatics
• Patient outcomes research

Background:

• Trauma registries are vital for enhancing trauma care quality and efficiency.
• Existing registries often lack long-term patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), hindering understanding of patient disability and recovery.
• Data from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) on post-injury outcomes are scarce.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement a digital trauma registry in Pakistan.
• To prospectively capture patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-injury.
• To address the gap in knowledge regarding long-term outcomes for trauma patients in LMICs.

Main Methods:

• A digital trauma registry will be established at two tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan.
• Adult trauma patients (≥18 years) will be enrolled, with data collected digitally via tablets.
• Primary outcomes include mortality, disability level, functional status, and quality of life, with follow-up via telephone interviews.

Main Results:

• Descriptive statistics will summarize patient demographics and clinical characteristics.
• Survival analysis (Kaplan-Meier, Cox models) will be performed.
• Mixed-effects linear regression will adjust for confounders to analyze primary outcomes.

Conclusions:

• The developed trauma registry will provide crucial data on long-term outcomes in an LMIC setting.
• Findings will inform future strategies for capturing post-discharge data and designing interventions.
• This initiative aims to enhance the understanding of trauma recovery and improve patient outcomes.