Rib Injury Outcomes Study (RIOS) V.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Prospective mixed methods observational study of patient reported outcomes and health related quality of life after blunt thoracic injury
IRAS ID
233230
Contact name
Geraldine A Lee
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Blunt chest trauma involving multiple fractured ribs accounts for 15% of all United Kingdom (UK) trauma centre admissions (approximately 5,550 admissions per year). This common presentation is normally observed in patients involved in road traffic incidents, falls from heights, assault with a blunt object, crush injuries and pedestrians hit by vehicles. It is recognised that effective patient care for those with severe physical injuries must be provided by appropriately trained professionals, at the right place and at the right time. This specialised care must continue throughout each patient’s journey from injury through to recovery.
Despite the recent improvement in the management of the most severely injured patients at Major Trauma Centres throughout the UK, there remain high levels of post injury complications and prolonged recovery for patients with multiple fractured ribs. Although individual treatment options that include pain relief, physiotherapy, breathing exercises and surgical operations to stabilise the broken ribs are used in normal practice, there is still no consensus on the best combination of treatment options for those with rib fractures.
This study aims to investigate and explore patients experience of recovering from blunt chest trauma using patient self reported outcomes and indepth interviews for 6 months after discharge from hospital. This study will provide insights into the challenges experienced by patients during the first six months after discharge from hospital. This will be the first study of patients' recovery from chest trauma and health related quality of life in the UK chest trauma population. These data will be important in future stages of this research which will involve reaching a consensus amongst a group of experts on the treatment priorities for managing acute blunt chest injuires and developing an integrated care pathway (ICP) that standardises post injury care for patients after admission for multiple fractured ribs.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SC/0230
Date of REC Opinion
2 May 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion