Military Orthopaedic Trauma Registry: Quality Data Now Available.

The Military Orthopaedic Trauma Registry (MOTR) orginally began as part of the Department of Defense Trauma Registry (DoDTR) and became a live registry in 2013. As a quality improvement process, this study examined MOTR data for 20 female amputees compared with DoDTR data. The DoDTR provided diagnosis and procedure codes as a list but no details. The MOTR provided additional data, including specific limb, fracture classifications, and associated injuries per limb. The MOTR allowed for construction of a treatment time line for each limb, including number and timing of debridements, antibiotics, and implant types. Orthopaedic-specific complications were also coded more frequently in the MOTR and clearly identified with a specific injury and treatment. During initial quality control checks, the MOTR provides a greater volume and granularity of detail for orthopaedic-specific injury and treatment information, indicating that the MOTR is on track to provide a valuable repository for data-driven orthopaedic management of combat injury.

The Military Orthopedic Trauma Registry: The potential of a specialty specific process improvement tool.

BACKGROUND: The Military Orthopaedic Trauma Registry (MOTR) was designed to replicate the Department of Defense Trauma Registry's (DoDTR's) role as pillar for data-driven management of extremity war wounds. The MOTR continuously undergoes quality assurance checks to optimize the registry data for future quality improvement efforts. We conducted a quality assurance survey of MOTR entrants to determine if a simple MOTR data pull could provide robust orthopedic-specific information toward the question of causes for late amputation. METHODS: Forty-five entrants into the DoDTR with late transtibial amputation were sequentially abstracted into MOTR by MOTR data abstractors. The MOTR record was then examined by an independent reviewer for three data fields pertaining to the events leading up to the late amputation: injury before limb amputation, complications before and after amputation, and complication or other factor directly contributing to the decision for amputation. RESULTS: Thirty-nine subjects had at least one fracture of the tibial diaphysis, tibial pilon, calcaneus, or multiple foot fractures. Twenty-nine fractures were described as open injuries for which 27 included a Gustilo and Anderson classification in the available data fields. Complications could be identified along the treatment course for 43 of the 45 entrants specific to the amputated limb. A directly contributing factor to late amputation was identified in 36 (80%) of the subjects. Infection, either alone or associated with fracture nonunion, was a contributing factor in 46% of late amputations. Wound infection was the most common complication both before and after the amputation. CONCLUSION: The MOTR, using a simple data extraction from a few registry fields, can provide a robust amount of information that can direct process and care improvement for severely injured limbs by providing the level of detail pertinent to an orthopedic surgeon. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic/epidemiological study, level IV.