The Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health has been awarded $38.6 million by the Peer Reviewed
Orthopaedic Research Program (PRORP) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to
expand its Major Extremity Trauma Research Consortium (METRC), according to a
press release.
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| Ellen MacKenzie |
The Consortium, which was established in September 2009 with an award of
$18 million from DOD, conducts multi-center studies relevant to the treatment
and outcomes of major orthopedic injuries sustained on the battlefield. The
additional funding allows for growth both in the size of the Consortium and in
the scope of its research.
“The initial funding was critical to establishing the consortium
and providing the resources to address some of the immediate research needs of
the military in the acute management of severe limb injuries,” Ellen
MacKenzie, PhD, principal investigator and the Fred and Julie Soper Professor
and chair of the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and
Management, stated in the release. “With the additional funding, we will
be able to expand the size of the consortium to address many other priority
topics of relevance to both the rehabilitation and treatment of the wounded
warrior, including the prevention of bone infection, chronic pain and overall
disability.”
“Increasing the number of centers allows for more efficient
designs,” Michael Bosse, MD, of Carolinas Medical Center, chair of the
Consortium, stated. “In this way, we will be in an even better position to
deliver on our goal of establishing treatment guidelines for the optimal care
of the wounded warrior and improve the outcomes of both service members and
civilians who sustain serious injury to the extremities.”
The Bloomberg School serves as the coordinating center for the
Consortium that includes a network of core civilian trauma centers working
together with the major military medical centers that provide treatment to
service members who sustain major trauma while on active duty. With this new
award, the number of core civilian centers will increase from 12 to 24. An
additional 30 satellite trauma centers around the country have pledged support
for the Consortium and will participate in one or more of the studies sponsored
under its umbrella.
“The need for such a consortium is evident,” Renan Castillo,
PhD, an assistant professor in the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and
Policy and Deputy Director of the METRC Coordinating Center, stated.
“Eighty-two percent of all service members injured in Operation Iraqi
Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom sustain significant extremity trauma.
Many are burdened with injuries to multiple limbs. The research conducted by
the Consortium will help us better understand what works and what doesn’t
in treating these injuries and ensure that our service members are provided
with the best care possible.”
