UT researchers to study massive transfusion at major trau...( The U.S. Department of Defense has a...),Health

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston a $9.2 million grant to conduct a multi-center clinical trial that could lead to an improved survival rate for trauma patients both soldiers and civilians -- who require massive blood transfusions.

The university's Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS) is contracting with the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research to serve as the data coordination center for a Prospective, Observational, Multi-center Massive Transfusion Trial (PROMMTT). Clinical trial sites for the two-year study will include Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center and at least nine other trauma centers.

"Those first few hours after injury are critical, and we'll be looking at what happens minute-to-minute that determines whether these patients live or die," said Col. John Holcomb, M.D., co-investigator, director of the Center for Translational Injury Research (CeTIR) and professor in the Department of Surgery at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

"This has never been done before. With these data, we'll eventually be able to pinpoint what works and what doesn't, develop standards for transfusion ratios and greatly improve the mortality rate, which currently is as high as 40 to 70 percent, depending on the trauma center. We will be able to design prospective randomized trials with quality data," Holcomb said. "Finally, what we learn in the civilian population will also benefit the military."

From the time a trauma patient is admitted to the hospital to the time of discharge or death, healthcare providers will be logging data on vital signs, units of packed red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma and platelets, as well as medications and other healthcare information.

Jiajie Zhang, Ph.D., co-investigator, holder of the Dr. Doris L. Ross Professorship and the associate dean for research at The University of Texas School of H
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