Neurotrauma Registries in Low- and Middle-Income Countries for Building Organized Neurotrauma Care: The LATINO Registry Experience Comment on "Neurotrauma Surveillance in National Registries of Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review and Comparative Analysis of Data Dictionaries"

Abstract

Trauma registries play an important role in building capacity for trauma systems. Regularly, trauma registries exist in high-income countries (HICs) but not in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Neurotrauma includes common conditions, like traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and spinal cord injuries (SCI). The development of organized neurotrauma care is crucial for improving the quality of care in less-resourced areas. The recent article published in the IJHPM by Barthelemy et al, entitled "Neurotrauma Surveillance in National Registries of Low-and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review and Comparative Analysis of Data Dictionaries" adds an important body of literature to improve understanding of the importance of these types of efforts bypromoting organized neurotrauma care systems in LMICs. Here, we provide a short commentary based on our experience with the LATINO neurotrauma registry in the LATAM region.

Social Determinants of Health Impact Spinal Cord Injury Outcomes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Meta-Epidemiological Study

“…Future initiatives may focus on infrastructure and systems to improve disease reporting in LMICs, as seen with global neurotrauma registries. 45,46 Additionally, stem cell scaffolds have shown promise in restoring neurological function and promoting axonal repair via nonoperative injections in preclinical models. 47 Many of these natural polymer scaffolds are abundant in nature, and dissemination strategies to equip LMICs with these options for SCI treatment should be considered as clinical translational studies progress.…”

Advancing Global Neurotrauma Surveillance Through National Registries: A Response to Recent Commentaries

“… 10 Several commentaries cited here note that the need for trained data management personnel remains a key hurdle to address, even when cost barriers are mitigated by free and open access technologies. 2 , 10 - 12 The opportunities highlighted by successful registry implementation in LMICs, such as the examples in Uganda and Nigeria cited here, can strengthen the advocacy platform for increased government funding to establish these lacking, yet indispensable human resources for trauma registry development and implementation. 10 , 11 …”

“…Rubiano and Clavijo highlight the importance of neurotrauma registry development for advancing organized neurotrauma care worldwide. 2 We thank the authors for sharing their experience with the LATINO-TBI registry, a project that aspires to fill the regional gap in neurotrauma data from the LMICs of Latin America and the Caribbean. The barriers encountered in the implementation of the LATINO-TBI registry, ie, lack of administrative support, incomplete data on prehospital care and outcomes, and inadequate healthcare investment prioritization by governments and institutions committed to the sustainable development of these regions, are commonly encountered in other LMICs.…”

Managing Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Across Resource Settings: Latin American Perspectives

“…The goal was to offer a brief review of the supporting literature and discuss how and where the different paradigms fit within regional and local practice patterns (Table 1 offers a synopsis). The idea of stratified resource-based protocols, in conjunction with trauma registries, is gaining increasing attention to specifically improve outcomes in resource-poor areas [ 11 , 12 ]. The second topic focused on the role of decompressive craniectomy (DC) in the management of intracranial hypertension (IHT) and in the overall approach to treatment of the patient with sTBI within variable resources settings (Table 2 provides bullet points on the role of DC).…”