Standardized data definitions for adult trauma video review: an expert consensus report

Trauma video review (TVR) provides granular data for quality improvement, education, and research but is hampered by a lack of standardized data definitions, which limits multicenter collaboration, benchmarking, and the generalizability of findings. We aimed to develop a universal data dictionary and collection tool through an expert consensus process to standardize adult TVR data capture across institutions.

The Trauma Video Review Collaborative convened a multidisciplinary panel of subject matter experts in trauma resuscitation from eight centers in the USA and Canada. Through a series of virtual meetings and discussions between May 2023 and July 2024, the group used a consensus-based process to identify and define core data elements. The development focused on core data elements directly observable from video, structured to mirror the clinical workflow of trauma resuscitation.

The final standardized data dictionary includes 95 items (44 categorical and 51 numeric/timestamps) with detailed definitions to ensure uniform collection. Categorical variables can be marked "unable to determine" to distinguish from missing data, as are the numeric/timestamps with a predefined timestamp. All timestamps are in military time format. Data points are pragmatically organized into five categories: (1) pre-arrival preparation, (2) handoff, (3) resuscitation period, (4) procedures and interventions, and (5) non-technical skills, incorporating the Trauma Non-Technical Skills tool. The dictionary is designed to link with registry data for patient demographics and outcomes.

This work establishes the first expert consensus-driven, universal data dictionary for adult TVR. It provides a common lexicon to standardize data collection, facilitating robust multicenter research, enabling objective benchmarking, and lowering the barrier to entry for new TVR programs. This tool represents a critical foundational step toward creating a large-scale TVR data registry to advance the science and practice of trauma resuscitation.