Predicting Recruitment Feasibility for Acute Spinal Cord Injury Clinical Trials in Canada Using National Registry Data

Thibault-Halman G, Rivers CS, Bailey CS, Tsai EC, Drew B, Noonan VK, Fehlings MG, Dvorak MF, Kurban D, Kwon BK, Christie SD.  J Neurotrauma. 2017 Feb;34(3):599-606. doi: 10.1089/neu.2016.4568. Epub 2016 Oct 24.

Summary: Research in spinal cord injury is challenging given the small population numbers and differences in the type of injury (severity and location on the spinal cord). The study group investigated whether a national registry (Rick Hansen SCI Registry) of individuals with a new traumatic spinal cord injury is useful for researchers to determine whether there are enough potential participants for their studies. The study team counted the number of people in the registry that would be eligible for five existing research studies. The study found that RHSCIR can support the design of studies to ensure there are enough potential participants.