Projects

Ped-CDE: Pediatric Common Data Elements for mTBI and Concussion

The incidence of pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) in North America is alarmingly high; studies suggest that mild TBI (mTBI) make up 70-80% of all cases reported. Of particular concern is that not only do many post-concussive symptoms, which manifest as cognitive, physical and behavioural deficits, persist for a subset of patients, but there is very little consensus among clinicians and researchers on how to diagnose and treat mTBI. Furthermore, there is a dearth of research examining the long-lasting effects of sustaining multiple mTBIs. One factor that contributes to this lack of consensus is that many clinicians and researchers use different tools or methods to collect data, thus making comparisons across sites challenging. Given this, we have assembled a team of clinician scientists, researchers, and knowledge users from across Canada, whose innovative research programs and clinical initiatives have had a significant impact on the field of pediatric mTBI. We propose to create a comprehensive, flexible and sustainable assessment battery that will serve to significantly advance clinical care via amalgamated and accessible research evidence. Our overall goal is to enhance our ability to conduct multi-centre research and provide evidence-based care across Canada that will assist in diagnoses and treatment of pediatric mTBI. Our specific aims are to 1) To identify and agree upon common data elements to be included; 2) To a) create the data collection/management system and b) implement the data collection process by means of a feasibility pilot project in 6 selected mTBI follow-up programs across Canada; and 3) Use data collected to create a clinical prediction model/clinical decision rule that will stratify patients according to cognitive/social/behavioral outcomes at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months post-injury. For details and more information, see the Ped-CDE website.

Funding

Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Fonds de recherche du Québec-Santé

Co-investigators:

• Miriam Beauchamp
• Brian Brooks
• Brian Christie
• Carol DeMatteo
• Alexander Sasha Dubrovsky
• Philippe Fait
• Debbie Friedman
• Lisa Grilli
• Ryan Hung
• David Junker
• Judith Marcoux
• Brad McFadyen
• Elise Mok
• Martin Mrazik
• Lucie Pelland
• Alain Ptito
• Kathryn Schneider
• Sheila Singh
• Katia Sirois
• Patrick Stroman
• Bonnie Swaine
• Chand Taneja
• Charles Tator
• Keith Yeates
• Karl Zabjek
• Roger Zemek

Participating Centers

• Montreal Children’s Hospital
• McGill University Health center (Montréal, Qc)
• CHU-Ste-Justine (Montreal Qc)
• CHU de Québec – Université Laval (Québec City, Qc)
• McMaster University (Hamilton, ON)
• Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (Ottawa, ON)
• University of Victoria (Victoria, BC)