What data are we looking at?
The local teams anonymise all data before passing it on to the research team, who will then pool and analyse the data. Anticipating that some injuries (like shootings or stabbings) might be identifiable from the event itself, further steps have been taken to ensure the anonymity of data.
Patient details
The researchers will not have access to any identifiable patient data. Gender will be recorded as male, female, or other. Age will be broken down into categories rather than specific ages.
Injury details
The reason for the injury will be recorded either as blunt or penetrating rather than giving specific mechanisms (such as a car crash or stabbing). The severity of the injury will be split into categories based on a standard scoring system. Although the time of the injury won't be recorded, the local teams will let the research team know some important time intervals, such as how long it took to get to the hospital or how long it took to measure the calcium level.
Vital signs
Vital signs include a patient's blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, and oxygen levels. Abnormal vital signs can be a measure of how unwell a child or young person might be. The researchers will look at whether vital signs are abnormal and how abnormal these are.
Blood tests
Blood tests will include the calcium level and other factors that may be associated with worse bleeding or a consequence of bleeding.
Outcomes
The researchers will examine what treatments are needed, such as blood transfusions or operations. They will also look to see if the low calcium levels are associated with disability or death.
