Projects

Care and RESuscitation in Trauma (CREST) Research Program

Trauma impacts everyone and yet it receives relatively little attention. Despite occasional media stories, most of us do not appreciate the full toll that trauma exerts as it kills and maims our children, friends, and family. Through the Care & RESuscitation in Trauma (CREST) Research Program, we are working together with colleagues across Canada and the world to better understand the nature of traumatic injury, how trauma care is managed, and factors associated with poor patient outcomes. A key aspect of this program is research on the development of post-intubation hypotension (PIH). With the support of the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group, we have investigated the impact of PIH in ICU patients across Canada and how physicians manage PIH in critically ill patients. We have also evaluated PIH in general anesthesia patients and are currently examining the effect of PIH in the trauma population. Another important aspect of CREST involves research on the impact of the age of transfused blood. Our previous work has reviewed the effect of blood storage age on mortality in trauma patients, and we are currently working with investigators of the Age of Blood Evaluation (ABLE) trial on a subgroup analysis of the trauma population. CREST is also actively performing research on traumatic brain injury (TBI). We are currently evaluating the role of alcohol on TBI patient outcomes in Nova Scotia, and we are collaborating on new studies investigating novel methods to improve the prognosis and treatment of TBI in critically ill patients.

Funding

Capital Health Research Fund (QEII HSC), Clinician Scientist Award (Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University), Research Award (Dalhousie University Medical School)

Co-Investigators

• Michael Butler
• Samuel Campbell
• David Clarke
• Paul Engels
• Mete Erdogan
• Dean Fergusson
• Alon Friedman
• Donald Griesdale
• George Kovacs
• Nelofar Kureshi
• Lauralyn McIntyre
• Jai Shankar
• Alexis Turgeon
• Ryan Zarychanski

Centers

• Queen Elizabeth II Health Science Centre (Halifax, NS)
• Trauma Nova Scotia (Halifax, NS)
• Dalhousie University (Halifax, NS)
• University of Ottawa (Ottawa, ON)
• CHU de Québec – Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus (Quebec city, Quebec)
• University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC)
• University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, MB)
• McMaster University (Hamilton, ON)