CENTER TBI
Collaborative European Neurotrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury
Background
This groundbreaking multinational, multicentre study brought together TBI researchers from 65 European hospitals in 20 Countries to better understand "the most complex disease in the most complex organ."
This prospective observational study enrolled patients presenting to the hospital after TBI and employed a highly granular CRF (clinical data including follow-up with neurocognitive, functional and quality of life up to two years after injury, biomarkers, imaging including MR scans). The core and registry studies enrolled the spectrum of patients with TBI presenting to the hospital including ICU and ward admissions plus people discharged from the Emergency Department post CT brain scan.
Aims
- Better characterise traumatic brain injury across the lifespan in Europe
- Identify effective systems and components of care
Results
There have been over 300 publications to meet the study aims utilising the legacy core (n=4509) and registry (n=22782) patient datasets which provide a generational opportunity for TBI investigators. The publications have characterised state-of-the-art and future potential therapies for this global disease burden.
At Sheffield, we led the Registry Work Package highlighting the silent and neglected epidemic of traumatic brain injury in older adults. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1474442219302327 “fallers” – very much the key challenge for 21st-century emergency care across the planet.
These results have led to a renewed focus on traumatic brain injury in older people with dedicated research calls. They are also impacting the international community’s efforts to recharacterize TBI beyond the “mild, moderate and severe” presenting Glasgow Coma Scale.
Funding
CENTER TBI was funded by a European Union Framework 7 funding as part of the INTBIR funding consortium (30 million euros). It opened in April 2013 and closed December 2020 after a nine-month extension).