| CRASH Co-ordinating Centre has moved to new offices within the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Most contact details will remain the same, but please note the new postal address at the end of this Newsletter. All personal extension numbers have also changed. Please use the main CRASH Trial telephone number until further notice, also at the end of the letter. |
| IMPORTANT
NEWS
I am absolutely sure that the main reason why CRASH collaborators are prepared to take on the extra work of participating in the trial is that they want to improve outcome for patients with brain injury. I am also sure that all of us would have preferred to have prevented the brain injury from occurring in the first place. In this regard, I would like to draw your attention to a hugely important initiative by the World Health Organisation (WHO). For the first time in the history of the WHO, World Health Day 2004 will be devoted to road safety. Traditionally held on 7 April, World Health Day is one of WHO’s key advocacy tools for reaching out and engaging the public in discussion and debate on important health issues. The slogan for the day in 2004 is Road safety is no accident and on 7 April 2004 the World Report on Road Traffic Injuries will be launched. The report covers the fundamental concepts and prerequisites of road traffic injury prevention, the impact of road traffic injuries, key determinants and risk factors, intervention strategies and recommendations. A global campaign for road safety will follow World Health Day during which time WHO and its partners will give technical support to countries to implement the recommendations of this report. Everyone taking part in the CRASH Trial knows the terrible impact of road traffic injuries on patients and their families and so everyone should do whatever they can to draw attention to this report and do their bit to ensure the implementation of its recommendations. More details about the report can be obtained on the World Health Day website http://www.who.int/world-health-day. IMPORTANT THANKS Before the next newsletter is sent out the trial collaborators will have randomised 10,000 patients. This is a huge achievement and everyone who has contributed to the success of the trial so far should feel proud of their contribution. Prior to CRASH, the largest head injury trial included only about 1,000 patients - far too small to detect clinically important treatment effects. Not only that, the CRASH collaborators have ensured that to date early outcome data are over 95% complete and that six month follow-up rates are in the nineties. Regardless of whether or not corticosteroids improve recovery, answering the trial question and conducting the first large scale randomised controlled trial in head injury will be a major milestone in the area of clinical medicine that is of enormous public health importance. Thanks to all. Ian Roberts
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EXCITEMENT IN DATA MATTERS Did you hear about the new buzz in the CRASH Trial? No? Well here is the scoop… right from the source. To keep up with the revolutionary pace of the New Year, CRASH plans to introduce a revolutionary way to send in data. Presenting the Electronic Data Form (EDF). Electronic?
What does it mean? Does it mean more work for me as a collaborator? This
all sounds exciting but what do I as a collaborator have to do? Hmmm
that sounds easy enough. Gimme more!! Leena Narayanan |
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| News
from the Co-ordinating Centre |
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I am especially pleased to be joining the CRASH team at such an exciting stage in the trial. As the number of patients randomised rises exponentially, the data management team will be increasingly involved in ensuring that the mechanisms of acquiring and validating data are optimal for all with the continuing emphasis on simplicity and accuracy. With many years experience of clinical research data management (Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing) and implementation of hospital information systems (Royal Marsden Hospital) I am aware of the onus on hospital staff in providing additional information for research purposes and fully appreciate the amazing contribution of all the CRASH collaborators. The year ahead should prove to be both challenging and satisfying and I am looking forward very much to joining the team. |
 Leena Narayanan Programmer |
I am the new Programmer with the CRASH Trial and am very excited to be a part of this team. I bring to this role over five years experience of working on a wide range of technologies and software platforms. This is my first experience of working on a clinical trial and I find it very challenging. My main responsibility is maintaining and developing the trial database. I will also be maintaining and developing the CRASHnet website. My first priority to date has been the development of Electronic Data Forms (EDF). These forms have been introduced with the aim to seamlessly integrate data from collaborators into the central database. The EDFs have been designed to be easy to understand and use. My next project will be to bring about changes in the CRASHNet website. I will be trying to add functionality to the existing website based on the suggestions and feedback we have received. I am motivated by the determination and enthusiasm of my colleagues and this gives me the drive to make a success of my role. |
 Julia Abernethy Data Assistant |
I have joined the CRASH Team as a part time data assistant. My background is in archaeology and anthropology as an undergraduate and more recently population genetics as a PhD student (I am currently writing up my PhD during my time off from CRASH!). My task is to do the second entry of all Early Outcome Forms and 6-month follow-up forms that need to be entered. This makes sure that all data stored in the database is accurate. As described elsewhere in this newsletter the trend is to move towards electronic forms which do not need manual entry, but until every collaborator has switched to these, I will have lots to do! |
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I
joined CRASH in December 2003. I have previously worked in
university administration, but this role is my first involvement
with a clinical trial. I am working in several administrative
aspects of the trial, including assisting with processing payments and
other finances, and sending trial materials to hospitals starting and
already involved in CRASH. |
| Here
is a further selection of photos of collaborating teams. Please keep them coming. |
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SPAIN|
MENTIONS
Thank you to all the teams listed below for your tremendous achievement. Without your contribution the CRASH Trial would not be able to achieve its goal. Also a warm welcome to all new collaborators. |
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New
ethics approvals
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New randomisers
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10 patients
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50 patients
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100
patients |
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| 100
patients Enrique Vergara and team Hospital San Bernardo Argentina |
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| 200
patients Hussein Khamis and team Mataria Teaching Hospital Egypt |
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| 200
patients Gabby Lomas and team Hope Hospital UK |
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CRASH
Co-ordinating Centre, LSHTM,
Keppel Street, LONDON WC1E 7HT email CRASH@LSHTM.AC.UK |
