Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury (TRACK-TBI)

• N/A (Observational Study) [ Time Frame: N/A (Observational Study) ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Please Refer to Study Components for measures employed in this study.
  
  

The Investigators aim for a 10-month data collection period for TBI patients across the spectrum from concussion to coma with a limited 3-month follow up and extensive 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow ups. Patient enrollment will occur in three high-volume TBI Centers (SFGH, UPMC, UMCB) and a TBI Rehabilitation Center (MSMC). These Centers have a long track record of multi-center TBI research experience as well as existing infrastructure for rapid start-up and sustained enrollment. All patients admitted acutely with a history of external force injury to the head with a head CT performed in the emergency department are eligible for enrollment. Head CTs are performed according to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines for neuroimaging and decision making in TBI. These Guidelines are already in place at the participating Centers and are used to determine which patients will receive a non-contrast head CT scan as part of their initial evaluation. Patients will not be excluded based on age, race, gender, ethnicity, substance abuse, or prior psychiatric history to provide a population-based sample of of TBI subjects across the injury spectrum from concussion to coma.

Study Components (Ref: NIH-NINDS TBI Common Data Elements):

1. Clinical Care and Demographic Data Collection. Variables include: date and time of injury, mechanism of injury, acute laboratory values and vital signs, neurological evaluations, surgical interventions, hospital course, morbidity and mortality during acute care.
2. Blood Draw for Proteomic and Genetic Marker Analyses. Blood samples will be drawn within 24 hours of injury. Plasma will be spun and separated from whole blood. Both plasma and whole blood samples will be banked centrally under -80 degrees Celsius at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) DNA Bank.
3. 3-Tesla (3T) Magnetic Resonance Imaging. A 3T Research MRI will be completed on a subset of patients able to return 1-2 weeks post-injury.
4. 3-Month Follow Up. The Glasgow Outcome Scale - Extended (GOS-E) and neurological symptoms inventory will be administered to patients over the phone 3 months post-injury.
5. 6-, 12-, and 24-Month Neurocognitive Assessment. Standardized measures from all designated CORE domains for outcome after TBI by TBI-CDEs, which include: global recovery, functional outcome, psychological impairment, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and quality of life, will be administered to the participant.

The investigators anticipate that this project has the potential to substantially advance and revolutionize clinical research in TBI. Repositories for neuroimaging, proteomic, and genetic biomarkers will facilitate the evolving field of these emerging technologies in TBI.