title: The challenges of conducting prehospital research: successes and lessons learnt from the Head Injury Transportation Straight to Neurosurgery (HITS-NS) trial.
abstract: Head Injury Transportation Straight to Neurosurgery was a cluster randomised trial studying suspected severe head injury treatment pathways conducted in the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust between January 2012 and March 2013. This was the world's first large scale trial of any trauma bypass and was conducted as a feasibility study. This short report will describe some of the lessons learnt during this ground breaking and complex trial.
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Department, North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: McClelland
authors.affiliation: North West Ambulance Service, Bolton, UK.
authors.forename: Elspeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pennington
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Department, North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Byers
authors.affiliation: University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Research in Sheffield (EMRiS), University of Sheffield/University of Manchester/Salford Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lecky
mesh_terms: D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education*; D004739:England; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012107:Research Design; D013222:State Medicine
keywords: emergency ambulance systems; pre-hospital; research, methods