State of orthopaedic trauma registries in South Korea, Japan, and Australia

The scope and complexity of orthopaedic trauma registries differ across the Asia-Pacific region. The purpose of this report was to review the existing registries in South Korea, Japan, and Australia focusing on their current utility, processes, and future directions.

Representatives of the International Orthopaedic Trauma Associations and relevant national registry experts provided a comprehensive overview of their countries' orthopaedic trauma registries based on predetermined mandatory aspects of their systems consistent with the goals of the global review, which includes other regions in a review series.

Japan and Australia have dedicated orthopaedic trauma registries without comprehensive data collection from the entire countries. The Database of Orthopaedic Trauma Japan and the Victorian Orthopaedic Trauma Outcomes Registry in Australia collect data specific to the skeletal injury, treatment options utilized, and outcomes. South Korea mandates by legislation the collection of comprehensive data on trauma patients through the Korea Trauma Data Bank in conjunction with the National Emergency Department Information System and Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. These registries are not specific to orthopaedic trauma, but some skeletal injury-specific outcomes are possible to extract from the large data sets.

South Korea, Japan, and Australia collect and compile orthopaedic trauma data through different systems, but these reflect a similar dedication to the improvement of trauma care and outcomes. All 3 countries have the potential resources to develop comprehensive orthopaedic trauma registries to monitor epidemiology and outcomes of skeletal injuries in conjunction with their national major trauma registries.