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. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 25(2):89–92, 2016)
Key words: amputations, combat injury, quality assurance, registry data, registry development