NEWSLETTER


Issue 34
May - June 2002

2,800 patients randomised
National recognition for South African CRASH Co-ordinator

Many congratulations to Bennie Hartzenberg, South African National CRASH Co-ordinator, who was elected President of the Society of Neurosurgeons of South Africa during their 17th Biennial Congress. This was a very exciting and successful conference, and we are delighted that hospitals in Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Medunsa, Pietersburg, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria are now interested in joining the trial.

We extend our special thanks to Grant du Plessis and Zelda Houlie for organising a fantastic CRASH meeting at Tygerberg Hospital following the congress, and for giving excellent presentations of progress so far (138 patients randomised). We are very grateful to have support from Harry Govender, Etienne Vermaak and Sarel Spies and the whole neurosurgery team, plus Jan Loots, Arkady Verkhovsky, Silvia Henry and the doctors and nurses in the resuscitation and trauma nursing team. We are excited about taking forward our plans for extending recruitment into the trauma unit and to working (even more closely!) with Zelda to minimise loss-to-follow up for all patients enrolled into the trial in Tygerberg.


Congratulations

The tide is unstoppable. New centres are joining the trial at an unprecedented speed. Welcome to Chile, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, India and Indonesia all of whom bring the country total to 38.

Ethics Approval

  • Flavio Nacul, Clínica São Vicente, Brazil
  • Jan Pachl, Charles University Prague, Czech Republic
  • Felipe Valdivia, Instituto de Neurocirugía "Dr Asenjo", Chile
  • Lars Widdel Raaf, Clinica Alemana, Chile
  • Chen Xinkang, Zhongshan City People's Hospital, China
  • Cai Xiaodong, Sheng Zheng Second People's Hospital, China
  • Oscar Palma Rodriguez, Hospital México, Costa Rica
  • Miguel Chung Sang Wong, Hospital Militar De Guayaquil, Ecuador
  • Rajesh Bhagchandani, Apex Hospital, India
  • Vijaya Ushanath Sethurayar, Meenakshi
  • Mission Hospital & Research Centre, India
  • Ichwan Syaiful, Dr Cipto Mangunkusmo General Hospital
  • Nyoman Golden, Sanglah General Hospital, Indonesia
  • Maria Giuseppina Annetta, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy
  • Charles Seah, Changi General Hospital, Singapore
  • Tang Kok Kee, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
  • Karol Kalig, NsP Ruzinov, Slovakia
  • Maria Cifranicova, NsP Trebisov, Slovakia
  • Beata Sániová, Jessenius Medical Faculty Hospital, Slovakia
  • Titus Odedun, Ormskirk and District General Hospital, UK
  • Rowland Cottingham, Royal Sussex County Hospital, UK
Top of table

First patient

  • Keith Hickling, Gold Coast Hospital, Australia
  • Ernesto Miguel Piferrer Ruiz, Hospital Clínico-Quirúrgico Docente “Saturnino Lora”, Cuba
  • Mathias Kalkum, Kreiskrankenhaus
    Tirschenreuth, Germany
  • George Nakos, University Hospital of Ioannina, Greece
  • José Luis Mejía González, Hospital Regional Numero 1, Queretaro, Mexico
  • Josef Firment, FNsP Kosice, Slovakia
  • Maite Misis, Hospital Universitario Germans Trias i Pujol, Spain
  • Juan Nava and Manuel Alfarez, Hospital Mútua de Terrassa, Spain

10 patients

  • Luiz Antonio Nasi, Hospital de Pronto Socorro de Porto Alegre, Brazil (25 patients in their first two months)
  • James Siah Heng Tan, National
    Neuroscience Institute, Singapore
  • Michael Gaab, Ernst Moritz Arndt University, Germany
  • Julia Harris, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, UK
  • Hana Andrejsova, Charles University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
  • Amanda Morris and Jane Thompson, Medway Maritime Hospital, UK


Cochrane Library access to high recruiters

Those collaborators who are steadily recruiting new patients to the trial will benefit from this new venture. We are in the process of setting up a web-page via the CRASH website for you to access the Cochrane Library database free of charge. This service is normally only available via a subscription. As soon as you have recruited 25 patients into the trial, we will give you a password to access this worldwide service.

Sending data by email


It is now possible to send both your Patient Entry forms* and Early Outcome Forms electronically as a password protected email attachment. This should make sending patient data much easier for you and is by far the quickest and simplest method for us to receive and enter the data. If you would like to try this out, please email us and we will send you the forms and instructions for password protection by return.

(* for centres using paper randomisation)

Paper randomising centres - please send your entries promptly

We find out that you have enrolled a patient when you fax or email us the patient entry form. We enter the patient into the database and the database then calculates your remaining drug stock. When you have reached your minimum stock level we will send you more treatment packs. It is vital that we know on a daily basis how many patients you have enrolled. That way you will not run out of treatment drugs and will be able to include every eligible patient.



Recruitment table: A - number of patients randomised, B - EOFs received, C - 6m follow-up complete
Hospital A B C
A.Z. Klina Hospital, Belgium 16 16 12
Abel Santamaria Cuadrado, Cuba 8 7 4
**Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, UK 8 8 8
Arrowe Park Hospital, UK 2 1 1
Batticaloa General Hospital, Médecins Sans Frontières, Sri Lanka 66 66 57
Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, UK 89 89 70
Blackburn Royal Infirmary, UK 18 18 14
**Bromley Hospital, UK 1 1 1
Centre Hospitalier Regional de Namur, Belgium 226 224 177
Charles University Hospital Plzen, Czech Rep 6 5 0
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, UK 11 11 1
Cheltenham General Hospital, UK 14 13 12
Chesterfield & North Derbyshire Royal Hospital, UK 4 4 3
City Hospital Birmingham, UK 5 5 5
Clinica Las Americas, Colombia 68 65 42
Colchester General Hospital, UK 42 42 34
Countess of Chester Hospital, UK 19 18 12
**Doncaster Royal Infirmary, UK 2 2 2
Dunedin Hospital, New Zealand 9 8 5
Eastbourne District General Hospital, UK 41 38 33
Ernst Moritz Arndt University, Germany 11 10 8
Fairfield General Hospital, UK 15 15 11
FNsP Kosice, Slovakia 2 1 0
Furness General Hospital, UK 18 15 11
Gold Coast Hospital, Australia 1 0 0
Harrogate District Hospital, UK 1 1 1
Hope Hospital, UK 140 129 106
Hospital Castro Rendon, Argentina 9 9 4
Hospital Clínico-Quirúrgico Docente “Saturnino Lora”, Cuba 4 2 1
Hospital de Pronto Socorro de Porto Alegre, Brazil 25 24 6
Hospital Escuela, Argentina 17 15 10
Hospital Español, Argentina 3 3 1
Hospital General de Medellin, Colombia 29 27 21
Hospital General Regional Numero 1, Mexico 4 3 1
Hospital Habib Thameur, Tunisia 9 7 1
Hospital Italiano, Argentina 9 9 7
ospital Municipal "Dr Leonidas Lucero, Argentina 12 11 11
Hospital Municipal Dr Hector J D'Agnillo, Argentina 9 9 2
Hospital Mútua de Terrassa, Spain 3 2 0
Hospital Nacional Profesor Alejandro Posadas, Argentina 4 4 2
Hospital of Jolimont, Belgium 9 9 7
Hospital Pribram, Czech Rep 7 7 7
Hospital San Bernardo, Argentina 34 31 16
Hospital Universitario Germans Trias i Pujol, Spain 4 3 1
Hospital Universitario San Jorge, Colombia 8 4 3
Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio, Spain 64 60 51
Hospital University Science Malaysia 78 68 42
ospital Zonal General de Agudos "Heroes de Malvinas, Argentina 7 7 3
Institute Of Neurology, UK 1 1 1
Instituto de Prevision Social (IPS), Paraguay 6 6 3
Istanbul Medical Faculty, Turkey 2 2 0
José Penna, Argentina 3 3 3
Kantonsspital Schaffhausen, Switzerland 4 4 1
**KAT Hospital of Athens, Greece 3 3 3
Kreiskrankenhaus Tirschenreuth, Germany 2 1 0
Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria 17 16 11
**Leeds General Infirmary, UK 2 2 2
Makerere Medical School, Uganda 21 21 9
Masaryk Hospital, Czech Rep 21 21 14
Mataria Teaching Hospital, Egypt 57 57 36
Medway Maritime Hospital, UK 9 6 5
Narh-Bita Hospital, Ghana 2 2 0
**National Hospital of Sri Lanka 39 38 24
National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore 13 12 7
Nemocnica Bojnice, Slovakia 5 4 1
Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, UK 9 9 7
North Manchester General Hospital, UK 69 67 54
Northern General Hospital, UK 15 13 13
NsP Poprad, Slovakia 5 4 1
Ospedale San Martino, Italy 1 1 1
Princess Alexandra Hospital, UK 15 15 14
Prof. Dr D Bagdasar Clinical Emergency Hospital, Romania 4 4 0
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, UK 13 12 12
**Queen Elizabeth Hospital Gateshead, UK 1 1 1
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, UK 15 14 13
Reimann Hospital, Slovakia 35 35 33
Research Institute for A3Special Surgery and Trauma, Czech Republic 353 345 233
Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, UK 46 43 30
Royal Bolton Hospital, UK 39 39 30
Royal Liverpool University Hospital, UK 9 9 9
Royal Oldham Hospital, UK 19 19 16
Selly Oak Hospital, UK 39 31 30
Spitalul Clinic de Urgenta Bucuresti, Romania 126 86 37
St Helier Hospital, UK 4 4 2
St James's University Hospital, Eire 80 77 47
Stepping Hill Hospital, UK 26 25 24
Suez Canal University, Egypt 43 43 34
Trafford General Hospital, UK 26 26 20
Tygerberg Academic Hospital, South Africa 138 128 86
University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic 10 8 4
University Hospital of Ioannina, Greece 2 0 0
University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland 74 73 67
Univerzity Karlovy Neurochirurgicka Klinika, Czech Rep 1 1 1
**Wentworth Hospital, South Africa 57 54 40
Whiston Hospital, UK 59 56 48
Withybush General Hospital, UK 6 6 5
Worthing Hospital, UK 17 16 11
Zhongshan City People's Hospital, China 1 0 0
** withdrawn from the trial
Column A figure includes patients enrolled within the last six months for whom follow-up is not yet due.
Please note: Number of months in the trial varies by centre.

Nin Ritchie, MRC CRASH Trial Manager

CRASH Co-ordinating Centre, LSHTM. 49-51 Bedford Square, LONDON WC1B 3DP

Tel +44(0)20 7299 4684 Fax +44(0)20 7299 4663 email CRASH@LSHTM.AC.UK

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