Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in TBI Pilot

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.

Recent Publications:

Yue JK, Vassar MJ, Lingsma H, Cooper SR, Yuh EL, Mukherjee P, Puccio AM, Gordon W, Okonkwo DO, Valadka A, Schnyer DM, Maas A, Manley GT; TRACK-TBI Investigators. Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury (TRACK-TBI) Pilot: Multicenter Implementation of the Common Data Elements for Traumatic Brain Injury. J Neurotrauma. 2013 Nov 15;30(22):1831-44.

Dams-O'Connor K, Spielman L, Singh A, Gordon WA, Lingsma HF, Maas AI, Manley GT, Mukherjee P, Okonkwo DO, Puccio AM, Schnyer DM, Valadka AB, Yue JK, Yuh EL; TRACK-TBI Investigators. The Impact of Prior Traumatic Brain Injury on Health and Functioning: a TRACK-TBI Study. J Neurotrauma. 2013 Dec 15;30(24):2014-20.

McMahon PJ, Hricik AJ, Yue JK, Puccio AM, Inoue T, Lingsma H, Beers SR, Gordon W, Valadka, A, Manley GT, Okonkwo DO; TRACK-TBI Investigators. Symptomatology and Functional Outcome in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Results from the Prospective TRACK-TBI Study. J Neurotrauma. 2013 Oct 31. [Epub ahead of print]

Diaz-Arrastia R, Wang KK, Papa L, Sorani MD, Yue JK, Puccio AM, McMahon PJ, Inoue T, Yuh EL, Lingsma H, Maas A, Valadka A, Okonkwo DO, Manley GT; TRACK-TBI Investigators. Acute Biomarkers of Traumatic Brain Injury: Relationship Between Plasma Levels of Ubiquitin C-Terminal Hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1) and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP). J Neurotrauma. 2013 Oct 9. [Epub ahead of print]

Okonkwo DO, Yue JK, Puccio AM, Panczykowski D, Inoue T, McMahon PJ, Sorani MD, Yuh EL, Lingsma H, Maas A, Valadka A, Manley GT; TRACK-TBI Investigators. GFAP-BDP as an Acute Diagnostic Marker of Traumatic Brain Injury: Results from the Prospective TRACK-TBI Study. J Neurotrauma. 2013 Sep 1;30(17):1490-7.

Yuh EL, Mukherjee P, Lingsma HF, Yue JK, Ferguson AR, Gordon WA, Valadka AB, Schnyer DM, Okonkwo DO, Maas AI, Manley GT; TRACK-TBI Investigators. Magnetic Resonance Imaging Improves 3-Month Outcome Prediction in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Ann Neurol. 2013 Feb;73(2):224-35.