Multicenter Studies in Orthopaedic Trauma: Importance, Challenges, and Stony Brook’s Contributions

Authors, Author Information and Article Contact

Amanda C. Pawlak1, MD; Nathan Olszewski2, MD; Maxwell Alley2, MD; Thomas Seaver2, MD; Diana Lee2, MD; Michael Doany1, MD; Paul Tornetta III2, MD; Stephen A. Kottmeier1, MD; Orthopaedic Trauma Research Consortium

1Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Stony Brook University 2Department of Orthopaedics, Boston University

 

Disclosure Statement: None of the authors has any funding sources, commercial, or financial conflicts of interest to declare.

Keywords
Trauma Research Consortium
Abstract

Historically, research within the field of orthopaedic surgery has largely consisted of small cohort studies or case series, typically produced out of one single center.1 Multicenter studies, however, allow for larger sample sizes and analyses with greater power and improved generalizability.2 Though these collaborative studies present challenges, including time, cost, communication and authorship issues, the value of these types of studies cannot be overstated.2,3 The Orthopaedic Trauma Research Consortium (OTRC) is one of several multi-institution research groups dedicated to furthering the field of orthopaedic trauma research. This manuscript reviews four recent OTRC studies that Stony Brook provided significant contributions to: “Bicondylar tibial plateau fractures: what predicts infection?”, “Risk factors for avascular necrosis after talar fractures”, “Is the sinus tarsi approach safer than the extended lateral approach for calcaneal fractures?”, and “Diagnostic validity of the computed tomography capsular sign for the detection of ipsilateral femoral neck fractures associated with femoral shaft fractures”. Each of these studies has gone on to presentation at, or recent submission to, national meetings of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA).

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