Research at Inova Trauma Center
Inova Trauma Center is committed to the improvement of patient care through research. Our research program includes both funded and unfunded projects. It is supported by a full-time research manager and full-time research associate who are focused on trauma research.
Trauma surgeons, fellows, residents, and students actively engage in research activities at Inova Trauma Center. Our team is supported by the Department of Surgery's epidemiologist and biostatistician.
Active studies at Inova Trauma Center include eleven original (investigator initiated) projects, three of which involve collaboration with other departments and subspecialists. In addition, we are currently working on six multi-institutional studies in collaboration with external university partners.
Areas of Study
Our areas of study vary and our methodologies include clinical trials, survey research, qualitative methods, and secondary data analysis. Our "Trauma ICU Prevalence Project" is an example of an investigator-initiated multi-institutional study in which we recruited 46 trauma centers to provide a contemporary description of the conditions, diagnoses, patterns, differences, and resource use for patients in trauma ICUs.
Our "Patient-Centered Communication for Surgical Residents: A Simulation-Based Curriculum" study assesses the efficacy of our communication training program. Our program has been widely disseminated in the literature and conferences over the years.
In 2015, we initiated a 30-month study in our Trauma Intensive Care Unit to identify risk factors for reintubation using a pre-extubation evaluation form. Analysis identified important characteristics present at the time of extubation as risk factors for failure of extubation. The results of this study are among the ten peer-reviewed publications credited to our investigators each year.
Our investigators travel nationally each year to present work conducted at Inova Trauma Center.
Safety Research
Through our work with the CIREN Program, Inova Trauma Center is at the forefront of research on how to improve car design to minimize injury. CIREN allows clinicians, engineers and crash reconstruction experts to analyze vehicle crashes and patient injuries to improve auto safety and reduce death and disability.
Learn more about the CIREN Program 
Learn More About Our Research
Click to learn more about Inova Trauma Center research programs and projects