Other Research Areas

ASER Multi-center Review of Blunt Splenic Trauma: Optimal CT Diagnosis, Characterization and Treatment

PI: James T. Lee, MD; Co-I’s: Christina LeBedis, MD; Emily Slade, PhD

James T. Lee, MD, Associate Professor of Radiology is the principal Investigator of this multi-center, blunt splenic trauma research project, which is funded by the American Society of Emergency Radiologists. The project is an important effort to determine the variation in approaches for imaging blunt trauma to the spleen. The University of Kentucky is the lead institution coordinating the study and there are 10 active sites including Boston University Medical Center where Co-PI Christina LeBedis, MD, practices. The study also includes two international sites, one in the Netherlands and one in Norway. Participating sites review patient CT images of blunt splenic trauma to determine if the treatment initiated in the first 24 - hours has any effect on the outcome of patient’s hospital stay or the occurrence of complications in an acute hospital setting. The length of hospital stay for splenic trauma patients is typically up to 1 week. Why the number of sites? There’s a wide variation in how splenic trauma patients are imaged and treated for splenic trauma and capturing that variation is an important first step in determining what works best. The objective of this important research is to determine the optimal approach for imaging and treatment of this all-too-common condition. At this time, approximately 1,300 patients have been reviewed and the goal is to recruit 2,000 patients. The team for this study includes Co-PI, Christina LeBedis, MD, Associate Professor of Radiology with Boston University Medical Center. Emily Slade, PhD, Assistant professor of biostatistics at the University of Kentucky, and several research team members with the University of Kentucky CCTS, are instrumental in collecting and entering data.