September 16, 2013 - Sepsis accounts for nearly 200,000 deaths each year in the US. To increase public awareness of this globally common deadly disease, the Global Sepsis Alliance with their founding non-profit organizations created September 13th as World Sepsis Day. In honor of this day, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Sepsis Collaborative held a community event that included informational exhibits, posters, and provided educational material on sepsis. One of CeTIR’s summer research students, Corbin Goerlich, presented a poster at this year event where he won the clinical poster competition. Mr. Goerlich, along with his primary mentor, CeTIR’s Dr. Laura Moore, conducted a prospective observational study to validate the use of a sepsis screening tool in emergency department patients utilizing StO₂ measurements. The purpose of this study was to develop a screening tool for early identification of sepsis in the emergency department using readily available triage data. Early identification can lead to earlier treatment and reduced rates of morbidity and mortality. Visit the World Sepsis Day and Sepsis Collaborative websites for more information on sepsis.

 

 

July 2013 – The Prospective Observational Multicenter Major Trauma Transfusion (PROMMTT)  study supplement was released in the July issue of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. The supplement contains fourteen manuscripts detailing the results, outcomes and management of this large trauma study. PROMMTT was a US Army funded prospective observational study conducted at ten trauma centers across the US. The objective of this study was to compare transfusion practices and outcomes in massively bleeding trauma patients, with the goal of prospectively validating an evidence-based algorithm to predict which patients would require a massive transfusion. In addition to the fourteen manuscripts within the supplement, four other PROMMTT manuscripts have already been published, including the main results paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA Surgery).

 

June 20, 2013 – Last week, the JETT was used for the first time to save the life of a Houston civilian. CeTIR investigators Drs. John Holcomb and Keith Gates developed the Junctional Emergency Treatment Tool, also known as the JETT, to serve as a junctional hemorrhage control device for wounds too proximal for traditional tourniquet use. This novel device is light-weight, portable and can be used to treat pelvic and lower extremity injuries sustained not only on the battlefield, but in the civilian environment as well. The JETT is already in use in Afghanistan. Life Flight paramedics used the device for the first time last week to save the life of a Houston man who sustained an injury from a circular saw to one of his large arteries. To learn more about the JETT check out the video below from North American Rescue and the featured article in the Houston Chronicle.

May 3, 2013-  Anahita Dua, MD, a CeTIR Trauma Research Fellow, won the best poster prize in the Posters of Distinction session at this year's annual congress for the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland. Dr. Dua's project was "Comparison of Military and Civilain Popliteal Artery Trauma Outcomes." Due to differences in injury patterns, Dr. Dua and colleagues compared modern management and outcomes of popliteal artery injuries in civilian and military trauma patients. Dr. Dua reviewed numerous variables between the two groups, including demographics, injury severity, interventions and secondary amputation rates. She was awarded a certificate and cash prize for best poster.