Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2012

Mentor: Dr. Herbert Phelan
Department: Surgery         
Room number: E5.508A   
Mail Code: MC-9158                      
Phone number: 214-648-6841     
E-mail: Herb.Phelan@utsouthwestern.edu                  
Project title: TBI: Using long term outcomes to evaluate the need for follow-up radiography

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):
                        Will be provided before study begins
Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): 

Project Type patient-based research

Brief Description of Project:

A previous research study by Dr. Phelan and colleagues showed that the care process for patients who present in the ER with TBI could be improved. The current standard is to perform a CT scan on admission and then monitor the patient for 6-24 hours. Even if the patient maintains a high score on the Glasgow coma scale, the patient is given a second CT scan at the end of the monitoring period. It was shown that the process of patient care after the second scan for patients with continuously high Glasgow scores did not change based on the second scan and that the second scan was unnecessary. The researching student will work with 6 month neurological follow-up exam data to try to show that in the long term, patients who maintain good scores during monitoring also do well in the long term. This will strengthen the case against a second CT scan during the initial care process.

Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students: