Question 1

Can more than one study group register from the same institute?

Accepted Answer

Only one study group should be entered per institution. If your institution is already registered, we would advise contacting your institution's study lead.

Question 2

Is there already a team registered from my institution?

Accepted Answer

Before registering, it's certainly useful to check if there's already a participating team at your institution. 
 
You can search for your institution on our World Map on our home page which shows all of the institutions currently registered for GNOS Spine. 
 
If your institution is already registered, we are more than happy to put you in touch with your local Study Lead who may have space on their team or suggestions on how you can get involved.  If you would like us to put you in touch with your local Study Lead, send us an email at info@globalspinetrauma.com.

Question 3

Can we choose more than one 30-day study collection period?

Accepted Answer

Only one 30-day inclusion period should be completed per institution. If you would like to change your chosen study dates, please contact us using the contact form on our website or directly at info@globalspinetrauma.com.

Question 4

Are there any requirements for the institution's study lead?

Accepted Answer

The study lead must be a fully qualified doctor who is currently employed by the registered institution.

Question 5

Do we need to follow up the patients after discharge?

Accepted Answer

Patients are followed up until 6 weeks, discharge or death (whichever occurs first). Therefore, after discharge there would be no further follow up required for the patient (you would not be required to call them or bring them back to your institution at 6 weeks).

Question 6

Should I include patients with TSI who were not managed surgically?

Accepted Answer

Yes, all adult patients who present with a newly diagnosed, radiologically confirmed, traumatic spinal injury (injury to the spinal cord, spinal nerves, osseous structures of the spinal column, disco ligamentous injury, or any combination of those) should be included, regardless of how they were managed. There is an option to add in that the patient was managed conservatively on the data entry platform.
 
Non structural injuries as transverse process or spinous process fractures should also be included.

Question 7

When does each institution's designated study period start?

Accepted Answer

Your study period will start at 00:01 on the day that you have selected your inclusion period to start. 
 
Your study period will end at 23:59 on day 30. 
 
All patients who present with radiologically confirmed TSI within this time period should be included in the study.

Question 8

Can we perform our data collection on paper?

Accepted Answer

At many institutions it may be easier to initially collect the data on paper.  You can download the paper case report form from the Documents section of our website. 
 
However, ultimately all data will need to be transferred onto the anonymised data collection platform, Orion, as you go along.

Question 9

I have a question regarding one of the data collection fields on the case report form. Where can I find more guidance?

Accepted Answer

Please refer to the Glossary of Terms available in the Documents section of our website.  You will find an explanation for every data field of the study. 
 
If you still have any questions, please feel free to email us your query at info@globalspinetrauma.com.

Question 10

When should we complete the Outcomes section on the case report form?

Accepted Answer

Outcomes should be assessed at 6 weeks if still an inpatient, or at the time of discharge or death (whichever comes first).

Question 11

Do I need to upload images as evidence of TSI?

Accepted Answer

You are not required to upload any images onto the data collection platform. 
 
Please use the AO Spine classification to interpret the images and enter the AO Spine grade in the designated fields on the case report form.

Question 12

I have sent an email either to the Orion support team or the info@globalspinetrauma.com however, have not received a response yet."

Accepted Answer

We have high volume of emails, however, we do our best to respond to enquiries within 5 working days. Please check your spam/junk folder for emails from the GNOS Spine Central Study Team and the Orion team as it is not uncommon for emails to be allocated to these folders.
 
You are more than welcome to email us again if you have not received a response within 5 working days.

Question 13

We have added a patient in error and would like to delete the entry. Is this possible?

Accepted Answer

Please email the patient's study ID to support@orion.net and inform them that the patient was entered incorrectly, requesting the patient to be removed from your data set.

Question 14

When does all the data need to be submitted by?

Accepted Answer

All of the data collection and data entry onto the platform should be completed by 10 weeks after your collection period begins.  All data fields should be entered by this point.

Question 15

How can I find out which patient corresponds to which data field as the cases are anonymised on the platform?

Accepted Answer

All study teams are required to keep an internal record of the local institution's hospital ID and the GNOS Spine Study IDs given on the registration platform. 
 
Please ensure you keep a record of this so that you are able to update data to the correct study ID throughout the course of your data collection. 
 
The data validator will also need to keep a record of this in parallel as they independently register patients into the validotor platform in parallel.

Global Neurotrauma Outcomes Study: Spine

Frequently asked questions