Center for Pediatric Trauma Research

Legislation Associated With Reduction in Amount of Opioids Prescribed at Discharge
Legislation Associated With Reduction in Amount of Opioids Prescribed at Discharge 1024 681 Laura Dattner

Study shows a decrease after the 2017 Ohio Prescription Opioid Cap Law went into effect. The Ohio Opioid Cap Law, enacted on August 31, 2017, limited the total dose and duration of opioids that could be prescribed for minors. The anticipated benefit of cap laws in preventing opioid overdose, death and addiction was counterbalanced by fears…

Predicting Risk of Nosocomial Infection in Pediatric Burn Patients: Can Measures of Adaptive Immune Function Help?
Predicting Risk of Nosocomial Infection in Pediatric Burn Patients: Can Measures of Adaptive Immune Function Help? 150 150 Abbie Miller

Pediatric burn injuries affect 1 million children each year in the United States. While burn care improvements have decreased mortality, infection-related complications remain a significant problem. According to the National Burn Repository, four of the top five complications of pediatric burns are infection related. Plus, infection-related complications occur in up to 60% of patients with…

Featured Researcher — Will Ray, PhD
Featured Researcher — Will Ray, PhD 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

William C. Ray, PhD, is a principal investigator in the Battelle Center for Mathematical Medicine in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and an associate professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University. His work focuses on unique ways to explore, visualize and communicate data using his background in fine arts, molecular…

NCHart-1 a New Approach to Estimating Total Body Surface Area Burn Percentages
NCHart-1 a New Approach to Estimating Total Body Surface Area Burn Percentages 150 150 Abbie Miller

The new chart reduces math errors, improving accuracy for better outcomes. When a child has a burn injury, immediate care is essential. Fluid administration and treatment resources needed are decisions made in the field by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics. Both decisions hinge on what percent of the child’s skin has burns. This number…

Using Virtual Reality Games to Reduce Dressing Change Pain in Pediatric Burn Patients
Using Virtual Reality Games to Reduce Dressing Change Pain in Pediatric Burn Patients 934 401 JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM

Smartphone-based virtual reality games can reduce dressing change pain for pediatric patients receiving outpatient burn treatment. According to the American Burn Association, burn injuries affect approximately 250,000 children in the United States each year. The pain associated with burn injuries extends beyond the injury itself; there is also significant pain from dressing changes, which can…

People Outperform Computers at Assigning Injury Severity in Trauma Patients
People Outperform Computers at Assigning Injury Severity in Trauma Patients 1024 768 Laura Dattner

Injury severity scores determined by specially trained staff were better at predicting length of stay and mortality than the computer generated scores. The success of trauma quality improvement and research is based upon detailed information maintained in trauma registries. Stratification of injury severity is critically important when collecting patient data for these registries. By compiling…

Pediatric Patients Receive Higher Radiation at Non-pediatric Trauma Centers
Pediatric Patients Receive Higher Radiation at Non-pediatric Trauma Centers 150 150 Bailey Dye

A novel software tool for calculating radiation burden has determined that pediatric trauma patients, evaluated using CT imaging primarily at adult trauma centers, demonstrate higher radiation exposure than those imaged primarily at a pediatric trauma center. Computed tomography (CT) is a mainstay of the diagnosis and treatment of trauma, the leading cause of death in…

From Military Zones to Pediatric Trauma Centers, Implementing Massive Transfusion Protocols
From Military Zones to Pediatric Trauma Centers, Implementing Massive Transfusion Protocols 150 150 Abbie Miller

While military and adult research has shown massive transfusion protocols to be lifesaving, implementation and validation in pediatrics lags. When someone is critically injured with life-threatening bleeding, the primary objective of the care team is to stop the bleeding and replace the lost blood. Historically, children in this situation were administered red blood cells (RBCs)…

A Painful Reality: Care Providers Tend to Underestimate Pain During Pediatric Burn Dressing Changes
A Painful Reality: Care Providers Tend to Underestimate Pain During Pediatric Burn Dressing Changes 150 150 Krista Wheeler

Researchers call for an updated pain scale. Dressing changes have been identified as one of the major contributors to perceived pain during burn care, and so it is important that pain be assessed accurately. But a new study from the Center for Pediatric Trauma Research in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital suggests that pediatric burn…