Review Article
Designing clinical trials in trauma surgery
D. C. Perry, X. L. Griffin, N. Parsons, M. L. Costa
Published:
April 01, 2014
DOI:
10.1302/2046-3758.34.2000283
License:
©2014 The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery©2014 The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attributions licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, but not for commercial gain, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
The surgical community is plagued with a reputation for both failing to engage and to deliver on clinical research. This is in part due to the absence of a strong research culture, however it is also due to a multitude of barriers encountered in clinical research; particularly those involving surgical interventions. ‘Trauma’ amplifies these barriers, owing to the unplanned nature of care, unpredictable work patterns, the emergent nature of treatment and complexities in the consent process. This review discusses the barriers to clinical research in surgery, with a particular emphasis on trauma. It considers how barriers may be overcome, with the aim to facilitate future successful clinical research.Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2014;3:123–9.